L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano selves to patients." Great names of the Milanese culi- nary scene, including repre- sentatives of Eataly, have embraced his initiative. Indeed, kindness is a sim- ple thing, but it's worth more than a million gold nuggets, or Michelin stars, at least according to internationally known chefs Carlo Cracco and Chicco and Bobo C e r e a . M a s t e r c h e f - famous Cracco is from Milan and has been w o r k i n g , a l o n g w i t h t w o o f h i s collaborators, at the Covid- 1 9 f i e l d f a m o u s n o t e l e f t i n a Turinese condo's main hall, where two girls living in one of the apartments offered to shop for all of their elderly neighbors. It was the first of a plethora of similar initiati- ves. Local businesses , in cities and villages alike, star- ted offering free delivery services for all: from the baker to the green g r o c e r , f r o m t h e butcher to pharma- cies, all the way to pet stores and e v e n s o m e b o o k s h o p s stepped it O ur Prime Mini- ster Giusep- pe Conte just announced the lockdown is to last at least until the 3rd of May. On that day, we'll be just shy of two months spent on our own, at home, wat- ching the tragedy unfold on our TV screens and, for a huge slice of us, within our own families and social cir- cles. For the world, this is a time like no other, something unseen since the end of the Second World War. And a war it is, when one stops and r e f l e c t s u p o n i t , j u s t l i k e many specialists and heads of state declared since the beginning of the emergency. I t a l y s u f f e r e d g r e a t l y through the last conflict, yet those days are, for the vast majority of its citizens, either history learned in school or precious snippets of real life narrated by parents, grandparents and great-grandpa- rents, those very s a m e g e n e r a - t i o n s t h a t C o v i d - 1 9 h a s b e e n cruel- Italy: a community of love ly decimating. One thing we w e r e a l w a y s r e p e a t e d , i n school and at home, about t h e l a s t w a r : h o w u n i t e d c o m m u n i t i e s b e c a m e i n those days. Villages became families and cities became villages, in demonstration that, when hardship hits, human nature bring us all closer to one another. In a time in human history w h e r e i n d i v i d u a l i s m a n d materialism lead the way we behave and made us all more lonely and cold hearted, wit- nessing the ways in which Italians are coming together t o h e l p o n e a n o t h e r a n d those fighting "il virus" on the frontline is a breath of fresh air. For instance, since the very first days of the pan- demic , when it became pain- fully evident our elderly were those more at risk, the young started running errands for their elderly neighbors, as w e l l e p i t o m i z e d b y t h a t up to help everyone staying at home, especially the most vulnerable. Of course, it's a way for them to keep money coming in, but that's impor- tant, too: our economy needs to breathe, it needs to stay alive, in the end. Some, like a b a k e r i n t h e s m a l l P i e d m o n t e s e v i l l a g e o f T r i n i t à , d e c i d e d t o g i v e bread for free to all those in need: with many risking to lose their jobs and others left without income because of forced inactivity, this simple gesture can virtually make the difference between going to bed hungry or not. Sometimes, what strikes the most is the sheer sim- plicity of these honest acts of kindness: the Santa Croce a n d C a r l e H o s p i t a l s o f Cuneo, Piedmont, have been receiving daily supplies of bread, focaccia, pizza and coffee for all their staff, from a long list of local bakers, delis and cafés that want to show their love and support, in the best way they can. A l o c a l p h a r m a c y d o n a t e d b o x e s a n d b o x e s o f h a n d cream, a godsend after hours passed wearing gloves. In Milan, 19 year old Riccardo T i r i t i e l l o , s e n i o r a t t h e Paolo Frisi institute for the culinary arts convinced his parents, owners of a deli, to c o o k f o r t h e h e a l t h c a r e w o r k e r s o f t h e S a c c o Hospital, Lombardia's Covid- 19 hub and research center. With the enthusiasm typical of youth, Riccardo got two friends from school, Aurora and Ciro, involved: the three have been actively helping his parents preparing food enough to feed around 200 people. And then, he called for all restaurants, delis and bakers in the city to do just the same to help "the many professionals who work end- less shifts and give all them- hospital at Fiera di Milano to feed those working there. Their effort started when the hospital was built and conti- nues now, while it's fully ope- rative: "we're going to take c a r e o f t h e m , " s a y s t h e Michelin starred chef. Not far from there, in Bergamo, a city painfully hit by the virus — the tragic images of army t r u c k s c o n v o y s c a r r y i n g bodies to out-of-region cre- matoria were shot there — three-Michelin-stars brothers Chicco and Bobo Cerea have been running the canteen and the in-ward food distri- b u t i o n a t t h e A l p i n i f i e l d hospital. In a now famous post, the brothers called for local businesses to actively contribute to the effort by sending produce, supplies and all that could be needed i n a k i t c h e n s t a t i n g t h a t "together, we are stronger!" I n R o m e , h o m e t o Spallanzani hospital, where t h e f i r s t t w o C o v i d - 1 9 patients were cured, several f a m o u s c h e f s h a v e b e e n cooking for staff: from Nabil Hadj Hassen and Alessandro R o s c i o l i , o f R o s c i o l i R e s t a u r a n t , t o W a l t e r Regolanti of Romolo al Porto, from Arcangelo Dandini of L ' A r c a n g e l o , t o M a r i o Sansone of Marzapane: they p r e p a r e m o r e t h a n 4 0 0 meals everyday. A bit south fo the capital, in Caserta, pizzaiolo Franco Pepe is a bit of an institution. Since the beginning of the emergency, Pepe has been making pizzas for the homeless and rising m o n e y i n s u p p o r t t h e Ospedale Civile di Caserta's ICU unit : thanks to his ini- tiative, a new pulmonary ven- tilator and a set of 10 ventila- tion masks have been already delivered. And how can we forget the many people, young and old, professionals and amateurs, who have plugged in their sewing machines and started sewing hundreds of masks for their communities and even for hospitals? In my vil- lage, there is a network of 6 women taking care of it, all c o o r d i n a t e d o n t h e l o c a l Facebook page by one of the councilors. There is one last example of goodness and heart war- ming beauty I'd like to men- tion, and I hope you'll forgive me if, to do so, I'll bring you b a c k a g a i n t o t h e s m a l l Langhe village I am from. Here, as in many other areas o f I t a l y , t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between locals and foreign communities hasn't always been easy. Well, in this time of emergency and fear, our local Muslim community col- lected around 2000 USD and donated them to our hospital, which is a Covid-19 center. And so did the Romanian community. The message was the same, in both cases: "Italy is our country, this is our home. It's only fair we help." We are one commu- nity for real, and I hope my fellow citizens won't forget it once this is all over. May this, as all the other examples mentioned in this article, remain etched in our memory even after the pan- d e m i c e n d s a n d o u r l i v e s return to a semblance of nor- mality. Let's never forget that when tragedy hits, it hits us all the same way, that we are more than what we own and that sharing with love and passion is what makes us human. LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE

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