L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2020 L'Italo-Americano T he long-awaited Fase Due that allows, with due precautions, to leave the house has finally arrived. Retur- ning to normal is still not possible. Coexistence with the virus requires to stay at least one meter away from one another, to wear masks, t o s h o p w i t h g l o v e s a n d using hand sanitizers, to avoid any kind of gathering. Schools remain closed, but most of activities have resumed, with the substan- tial exception of bars and restaurants, that is, the pla- ces where, between convi- viality and a plate of good f o o d , I t a l y ' s s o c i a l l i f e i s made. Infection is decrea- sing, but far from being fini- shed and Covid-19 contin- ues to modify the way we live. From North to South, t h i s i s w h a t L ' I t a l o - Americano collaborators tell us about how we all lived at the times coronavirus. T H E N O R T H - O v e r 220 thousand Italians have so far contracted the virus (it resulted fatal in more than 30 thousand cases). Among them, over 81 thou- sand come from Lombardy, 3 0 t h o u s a n d f r o m Piedmont, 27 thousand from Emilia, 20 thousand from Veneto. Little by little, the situation has been impro- ving, but Lombardy still has 30 thousand positives and P i e d m o n t 1 3 t h o u s a n d . Veneto has been doing much b e t t e r a n d i s d o w n t o 6 thousand cases. Luca lives in magnifi- cent Venice, unrecogniz- able without its masses of tourists and traffic in the lagoon. During the quaran- tine, however, this city built on charm and beauty has rediscovered nature: clear waters, canals alive with jel- lyfish and octopuses, and silence: "On the top floor of an apartment building over- looking the lagoon, I witness an assolo of art and silence. These are like atypical post- cards of a Venice that has never been so light. In front o f m e , h e r e ' s a c i t y t h a t founds itself suddenly fragi- le, sparsely inhabited and dependent on tourists. Often badly tolerated by residents, those tourists, but today the situation has been reversed, and to the extreme. Thirty years ago, there were fewer tourists, it is true, but there were many more residents; then, they were forced to m o v e i n l a n d d u e t o t h e i m p o s s i b i l i t y o f b u y i n g a house here. Today the city feels empty, it is empty. "The cameras of the world focus on the Basilica of San Marco, which is clo- sed. But there is more. The o n c e u p o n a t i m e b u s y queues to enter the Doge's P a l a c e a r e r e p l a c e d b y those — always composed, always formed respecting s o c i a l d i s t a n c i n g — f o r supermarkets. An already suffering Rialto Market, a piece of history of the city, l a n g u i s h e s . T h e Cannaregio district, one of the most populated, is s t r i p p e d o f i t s v i t a l i t y . B a c a r i a n d s m a l l s h o p s along the Ormesini and the Misericordia foundation, are c l o s e d . I n f o r t y y e a r s o f Venetian life I rarely found myself on the Paglia bridge and turn to take a look at the Ponte dei Sospiri without anyone passing in front of me. Today, if I wanted, I could stand there, undistur- bed, for hours. "But there are some posi- tive aspects in Venice at the t i m e o f t h e p a n d e m i c : reduced water traffic, for e x a m p l e , a n d n o c r u i s e ships. Canals run healthy again. Water is clear. Fish, ducks and swans have been swimming like never before in recent times. "Andrà tutto bene" those rainbows drawn by children all over Italy have said for months, but life has changed a lot. My son is at home, the kinder- garten has been closed for the longest time. All is sus- p e n d e d i n d e f i n i t e l y . I t ' s strange. Everything is so dif- ferent. I work and play with my child. I play and work. I go out shopping. But a lot of t h i n g s a r e n o l o n g e r t h e same. When I feel like to go a n d g e t a n i n n o c e n t i c e cream with my wife and my son, maybe relaxing for a A Canal in Venezia and the town's colorful houses. Covid-19 changed the life in La Serenissima, too. (Photo: Dream- stime) North, Center and South: how Covid-19 changed the way we live — Part Three BARBARA MINAFRA LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Continued to page 10

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