Italy has suffered more than any other European country from the coronavirus outbreak, but the nation is not losing its spirit, and the Italian response to the coronavirus is in the best traditions of this country and its optimistic culture.
As the day draws to a close, my daughter and I look out the window of our living room. In front of us is one of the squares in the historic center of Rome, where we live. On normal days, it’s full of people: groups of tourists walking around, Romans walking their dogs, groups of nuns jogging, lovers arguing… Today, the streets are empty, except for someone in a mask and disposable gloves who crosses them quickly. A blanket of eerie silence has fallen over our neighborhood. This is the new Rome, the new Italy. But then I look up and see several hand-painted rainbow flags hanging from our neighbors’ balconies and windows. They say: “Andrà tutto bene” (“Everything will be fine”). This is a necessary reminder for me right now: we will get through this, life will get better. This simple phrase perfectly reflects the feelings of hope and solidarity that have united all of Italy in recent weeks. I have never felt so proud to be Italian.
Italian children write “Everything will be fine” on homemade flags
On March 11, the Italian government effectively shut down the country – nothing works except supermarkets and pharmacies, and all public gatherings are banned. This is an attempt to contain the coronavirus that has devastated the northern region of Lombardy and is spreading like wildfire to other areas of the country. “We all have to sacrifice something for the good of Italy, and we have to do it now,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said as he introduced the emergency measures. “We have no more time. Our future is in our hands.” And here we sit at home, as we are ordered to do, and no one knows how long this will last. We can go out to eat, to the pharmacies, to work (if we have a job that the country cannot do without), but only with special passes. We used to read that such measures were considered draconian in other countries. Now, however, many European and world countries are gradually coming around to the idea that it will not be possible to slow down the spread of the virus without them.
An eerie silence hangs over the cities of Italy: everyone stays at home, or else – heavy fines.
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I am proud of how our government has responded to the gravity of the problem, but I am even prouder of how Italians are living day by day in these extraordinary circumstances, proud of their collective response. I would like to make it clear that distrust of authority and of all rules imposed from above is in the blood of Italians. Which is understandable: since 1948 we have had 61 governments. Moreover, Italy remains largely a scattered mosaic of city-states, where campanilismo (literally, attachment to one’s bell tower, local patriotism) often takes precedence over national unity. And in this context, the way Italians have embraced the nationwide movement #iorestoacasa (“I stay at home”) is simply amazing. It also shows the whole world the Italian character, the Italian culture and the nation’s creative approach to any situation, even the most difficult. It is a reminder of why so many people around the world are in love with the Italian spirit – its generosity, magnanimity and love of life.
In Italy, both adults and children have the ability to turn chaos and uncertainty into a reason for artistic self-expression. From Renaissance masters to modern chefs, Italians have always had a talent for improvisation and the ability to turn chaos and uncertainty into something beautiful. The ancient Romans said: “Dum vita est, spes est” (“While there is life, there is hope”), and this is more true than ever in today’s Italy. Every day at 6:00 p.m., when the clocks begin to strike on the buildings of ancient Rome, we open the windows and sing popular and classical Italian songs with our neighbors. Yesterday it was “Tanto pe’ Cantà” by Nino Manfredi, today it’s “Felicità” by Al Bano and Romina Power, and tomorrow it might be “Ma il cielo è sempre più blu” by Rino Gaetano. We dance at the window and wave to our neighbors who live in the houses across the square. In just two weeks, this tradition of “18 hours” has become a fundamental part of our lives, of our daily routine, and now it is happening all over Italy. It is a new national pastime in which we send each other rays of hope.
Italy’s new “quarantine culture” spreads worldwide – from applauding health workers to choirs singing from open windows.
In villages and cities throughout the country, people sing the national anthem in unison, peering out of windows, and even in the recording, it looks impressive and touching. In Turin, the opera diva sang an aria from her balcony, accompanied by a lone violinist. Here in Rome, neighbors watched an elderly couple slowly dance in their living room while black and white footage of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing played on the wall of their house. In Florence, tenor Maurizio Marcini performed Giacomo Puccini’s stirring aria Nessun Dorma (“None Shall Sleep”) from the balcony, raising his hands at the final words “all’alba vincerò” (“I will triumph at dawn”). In Milan, a trumpeter played the unofficial anthem of the city, “Oh mia bella Madunina” (referring to the golden statue of the Virgin Mary on top of Milan Cathedral, visible from various points in the city), behind a decorative window grille. Masked passersby stopped to record him on their smartphones, and at the end they erupted in applause, shouting “Forza Milano!” (“Go, Milan!”). Neighbors on balconies smiled and wiped away tears, moved… Italians are increasingly turning such moments of unity into a public good. The world was captivated by a video from the medieval Tuscan city of Siena, in which the quarantined residents of the city sang a folk song down the street. And now, every night at 9:00 p.m., anyone can participate in the official city program, Siena Canta (“Siena Sings”), during which residents sing from their windows to collect donations for emergency services and the city hospital.
In a store in Rome – an announcement about temporary closure during the pandemic, accompanied by a well-known Italian expression: “We will survive the night.
Reduced communication with friends and acquaintances (and people in general) and significantly increased time with family, strangely enough, help to demonstrate pure Italian resilience, optimism and sense of humor, and at the same time fill our time with something uplifting. For example, every day at 12:00 we go to the window or balcony to applaud our health workers who are working tirelessly to fight the virus. This tradition, like the rainbow flags, has spread far beyond the borders of Italy – to France, Spain and other countries. And even though we no longer go out for lunch or cocktails with friends and colleagues, we maintain the Italian tradition of apericena (“happy hour” when you can order an aperitif at a discounted price) by enjoying a cocktail and then dinner, catching up with friends and family online who are also staying home. Extraordinary circumstances have once again turned us into chefs and culinary experts. Restaurants are closed and Italians have started to remember old family recipes that their grandmothers used to cook and share them on social media. Newspapers have also joined in, inviting people to send in recipes for their favorite regional dishes so that they can be published and pay tribute to the diversity and richness of Italian cuisine. “When you have to stay at home, what could be better than gathering the whole family around the table?” – La Nazione wrote.
When all the restaurants are closed, there is nothing left to do but to remember an old grandmother’s recipe and cook something very delicious. Our family watches the show #KitchenQuarantine (“Кухонный карантин”) by one of the best chefs in the world, Massimo Bottura, every night on Instagram. In his kitchen in Modena, he teaches how to creatively use everything in the fridge or cellar for cooking, instead of going to the supermarket every day. “This is not a master class,” Bottura says. “This is a kitchen quarantine for our family. We just want to have fun and show the world that with just a few things-a kitchen table, a few ingredients, and family-we can have fun.”
Family means a lot to an Italian. Young people grow up listening to their parents’ stories about the difficult post-war period, when everything was scarce but everyone supported each other. In this way, the children absorbed the spirit of selflessness and devotion, of civic duty, that was inherent in their parents and whose manifestation we now see all over the country. In Rome and Milan, millennials are interacting with the elderly through the Next Door application, bringing them medicine and food. In Florence, the members of the “Bianchi” team in calcio storico (Florentine football, an ancient and rather brutal sport, a cross between soccer and rugby, born in Florence five centuries ago) deliver groceries and pay bills for those who are unable to go out themselves. “This is very Florentine,” says Giorgietta Jupe, a resident of this city.
Even during the quarantine, Italians find a way to help the most vulnerable. Meanwhile, in small towns like Pietracupa in the Molise region, where only about 150 people live, it’s enough to call the store. “If someone needs something but can’t get out for some reason, they just call us and one of us brings the products to their door,” my friend Christine Cantera, who works in a store, told me recently.
The time is approaching 18:00. Another day in quarantine is over. I look out of the window – the place is empty, all is quiet. In such a world, it is very difficult to remain positive. Italy currently has more deaths from COVID-19 than any other country. In northern Italy, churches are filled with coffins containing the bodies of the deceased – cemeteries are running out of space. Morgues are also full, and the military is loading bodies onto trucks. When will there be fewer deaths? When will schools open? Will our family get sick? My daughter asks me about it every day. All I can tell her is that we must persevere and take responsibility for ourselves and our fellow citizens. If Italy has taught the world anything in recent weeks, it is that hope always prevails and culture lives on. And then I remind my daughter that it’s time to open the windows and get ready to sing another beautiful Italian song together. “Andrà tutto bene” (Everything will be fine), I tell her. You can read the original version of this article on the BBC Travel website.