L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021 L'Italo-Americano A y e a r a n d t w o m o n t h s s i n c e the first Covid- 1 9 c a s e w a s reported, Italy i s s t i l l b a t t l i n g t h e v i r u s . However, things may just have begun looking up: this week, most of the country will be placed in the lowest- risk zona gialla, meaning cafés and restaurants will finally open for both lunch and dinner, albeit only out- door. Cinema, theatres and museums will also open and, soon, it'll be pools and gyms'- turn. The vaccination cam- paign, which started incredi- bly slowly in the month of January, has finally found a good, steady pace, with about 20 million Italians – 1/3 of t h e p o p u l a t i o n - - h a v i n g received at least one dose. It could well be the beginning of a slow, and very fragile, path to normality, whatever "normality" may mean to each and every one of us after a year of pandemic. That Covid-19 has been an i m m e n s e t r a g e d y f o r t h e country, the biggest since the Second World War, it's obvi- ous. Yet, there are a handful of places where the pandemic never arrived. Small islands, isolated and protected by the sea, that kept far and away non-locals for more than a year and, with them, also infection. Living on a small island, sometimes, can be difficult, as isolation is not always a blessing: the high number of p e o p l e , e s p e c i a l l y y o u n g , who've been seeking educa- t i o n , e m p l o y m e n t a n d a brighter future on the main- land seems to bear witness to that. But when it comes to Covid-19, and perhaps to the kind of lifestyle – quieter, away from cities and confu- sion – many are hoping to embrace after this all ends, a tranquil insular environment may be the safest place you can find. The somnolent, beautiful and tiny island of Linosa didn't have one single case of Covid-19. While a handful were recorded on its sister island, Lampedusa, Linosa remained happily free from infections. Its isolation has been its luck: home to not more than 200 people and blissfully untouched by mass tourism, Linosa is reachable only via the sea, either with a 1 2 h o u r s b o a t r i d e f r o m P o r t o E m p e d o c l e , o n t h e Sicilian mainland, or a short- e r t r i p f r o m L a m p e d u s a . Circled by one single road, here you'll find one super- market, a post office, a phar- macy, a couple of cafés and a p i z z e r i a o p e n o n l y o n Saturdays. All other shops are often closed in the colder months, so lockdown is not that different from a normal w i n t e r t o i t s p e o p l e . T h e small fishing community is tight-knit and very protective of its own safety, as mayor Totò Martello told CNN in a recent article, so people keep wearing masks in public and when meeting family and friends. To protect Linosa from the risk of infections, passengers of every ferry arriving are checked before being allowed into the village and non-residents and visi- tors must take a test at the ferry port. Famous Aeolian Islands of Vulcano, Filicudi and Alicudi, always in Sicily, have also kept Covid-free throughout the year. Vulcano is well known among sun- sea-and-sand lovers, as its b e a c h e s a r e t h e s t u f f o f dreams, but tourists, who are the lifeblood of the island's e c o n o m y , h a v e n o t b e e n many since the pandemic has begun. Without a doubt, the absence of tourists has been felt by locals but, all in all, their lives – just like it hap- p e n e d f o r t h e p e o p l e o f Linosa – didn't change much from the usual: the colder months are quiet, slow, spent fishing or at home. Many shops do close during the winter anyway, so this past didn't seem all that different from any other. With regular Covid checks at Milazzo, on the Sicilian mainland, for all those travelling to the island, Vulcano hopes to remain free from infection and to be able to welcome visitors in full safety very soon. Filicudi is the wildest and among the most seclud- ed of the Aeolian Islands. S u r r o u n d e d b y a n o f t e n rough sea, seeing ferry rides to and from the mainland c a n c e l e d h a s n e v e r b e e n unusual, but while this would once have been source of frustration, it is today con- sidered a sort of blessing. There's only one village, in Filicudi, Pecorini a Mare: the rest is beautiful, isolated cot- tages dotted here and there on the hills. Its inhabitants enjoy the beauty of the land- scape, the plentiful gifts of the earth – with such a mild, favorable climate, it couldn't be otherwise! – and the sense of safety and protection given by the sea, their tempera- mental, yet beloved, father. Aeolian sister A l i c u d i is even more secluded and soli- tary. There are only donkey paths – 25 km of them-- and steps – around 10,000 – to connect all the homes on this isolated, but incredibly beau- tiful island. No stores, nor street lights: living here is like stepping back into the 19 th century. There is a sense of harmony and safety in all this, though, and no Covid- 1 9 . H e r e , a m o n g p r i c k l y pears and blue skies, there is l i t t l e c o n n e c t i o n t o t h e tragedy that hit the world. Just a few miles north, in Puglia, other islands kept t h e i r C o v i d - f r e e s t a t u s t h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r . T h e T r e m i t i I s l a n d s a r e a famous tourist hot spot, so their name probably sound familiar. In truth, of the five islands forming the archipel- ago only two, San Nicola and San Domino, are inhabited and just about 200 people c a l l t h e m h o m e a l l y e a r round. Very strict controls at Termoli, where ferries leave the mainland to reach them, mean that the past year saw n o c a s e s n e i t h e r o n S a n Nicola, nor San Domino. But a s t h e i s l a n d s s u r v i v e o n tourism, the pandemic hit, nevertheless. With the coun- try slowly reopening and vac- cines being rolled out quick- er, locals hope to be able to welcome visitors again this summer. Beautiful and quaint Alicudi remained Covid-free throughout the pandemic (Photo: Eugenia Struk/Dreamstime) FRANCESCA BEZZONE The Italian islands where Covid-19 never arrived NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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