{"id":833,"date":"2025-07-14T15:32:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T07:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/index.php\/2025\/03\/07\/whats-it-like-living-in-lockdown-three-people-in-italy-share-their-stories\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T09:56:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T01:56:05","slug":"whats-it-like-living-in-lockdown-three-people-in-italy-share-their-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/?p=833","title":{"rendered":"What’s it like living in lockdown? Three people in Italy share their stories"},"content":{"rendered":"
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With more countries introducing lockdown measures to control the spread of coronavirus, we asked three people living in Italy to share their experiences.<\/p>\n

\"Man
Three people living in lockdown in Italy share their experiences \u00a9 Elena.Katkova \/ Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Benedetta Geddo, Piedmont<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s been officially six days since the last time I left my house. I went to the gym and to our usual family dinner on Friday, completely unaware that it was going to be the last \u2018normal\u2019 day for a while. On Sunday, my region was declared a red zone. On Monday, that status was extended to the rest of Italy. Today is Thursday, and yesterday evening our Prime Minister announced an even harder crackdown \u2013 only grocery shops and pharmacies can remain open. It feels very much like the opening of a disaster movie, that mix of \u2018it can\u2019t be like this\u2019 and \u2018this is the only way it could be\u2019 \u2013 I can\u2019t really describe in any other way.<\/p>\n

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\"Benedetta
Benedetta Geddo is living in Piedmont \u00a9 Benedetta Geddo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The situation is pretty much what you read in newspapers \u2013 going out is essentially banned, unless it\u2019s for necessities like grocery shopping, health reasons, work. Knowing that even if I wanted to I couldn\u2019t go out drives me up the walls sometimes, even though I\u2019m very much a homebody usually. My biggest personal worry, though, remains the situation of my grandparents \u2013 they live in a different city and we can\u2019t visit them, since we can\u2019t move. I try not to linger on the thought that they\u2019re high-risk people, more than 80 years old, or fear paralyses me. In the same way, I have to take long breaks in between the times I think about the social, economic and political future of our country.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/strong>Ask Tom: Lonely Planet expert answers your pressing travel questions in light of the coronavirus pandemic<\/p>\n

I am still one of the lucky ones, though, and by now I have set up a sort of routine. There\u2019s work as usual, since I can do it remotely. I also take a walk around the garden after lunch, just to soak in some sun and breathe some fresh air. I do my gym classes at home using packs of pasta instead of weights. My friends and I talk on FaceTime a lot instead of meeting at a cafe \u2013 we\u2019re actually planning a group yoga session via FaceTime for the weekend, which has the potential to be either glorious or a complete disaster.<\/p>\n

It feels comforting, as routines usually do, but it\u2019s still strange. It\u2019s as if the fence surrounding our house has become the limit of our world \u2013 when we venture out we step into a no man\u2019s land that feels dangerous, something out of one of those weird dreams where everything is familiar and alien at the same time.<\/p>\n

\"Alexandra
Alexandra Bruzzese is based in Rome \u00a9 Emma Law<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alexandra Bruzzese, Rome<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Reaction to the arrival of coronavirus has hit Rome fast and furiously in a few short days. Despite the virus having breached our borders with cases reported in the North towards the end of February, it seemed to remain a fairly abstract problem. Friends shrugged off talk of closing down bars; the hashtag #RomaNonSiFerma, or #RomeWontStop took off in the hospitality sector; and up until this weekend restaurants were open for business as usual. In retrospect, I\u2019m ashamed to admit that this past Saturday I went for brunch with friends, headed to an exhibit, and then grabbed drinks in the evening.<\/p>\n

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Since Sunday, restrictions have increased at a whiplash rate. All businesses except for pharmacies and supermarkets are closed and one member per family is allowed to go out to do the shopping; you must also carry an auto-certificazione<\/em>, a certificate that states your reason for being outdoors to present to police if they stop you. There are very few people out and about, and most don surgical masks.<\/p>\n

While I believe health is paramount and support the measures being taken to curb the virus, I can\u2019t help but dwell on how this will cripple my adopted country\u2019s already shaky economy; the disappearance of tourism, its lifeblood, was damaging enough.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/strong>How airlines are trying to ensure coronavirus does not spread on board planes<\/p>\n

In the grand scheme of things, I am fine. I do my work from home and have food and WiFi and Netflix and an endless supply of books. Things could be much, much worse and I am happy to cooperate. My advice for others would be to just stay put. Travel is lovely and life-changing, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair to put the most vulnerable at risk in the name of a low-cost flight to Barcelona.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m hoping that the quicker we all play by the rules, the quicker things will go back to normal. In the meantime, there are a wealth of Italian businesses who are relying on online sales to float them through the next few months; consider purchasing a Made-In-Italy product to support them. Bakery Oliveri1882 in Vicenza is selling their traditional Easter cakes, or colombe <\/em>(coffee) online; historic tea room Babingtons sells their teas too along with countless other businesses.<\/p>\n

\"John
John Fullman is based in Tuscany \u00a9 John Fullman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

John Fullman, Tuscany<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I live in the small hamlet of Aboca above the town of Sansepolcro in eastern Tuscany for most of the year. Certainly until yesterday, the last day I went shopping, everything was very calm. There had been some panic buying earlier in the week but the supermarkets took that in their stride and merely refilled the shelves. Then on Monday, people stripped the shelves of any fresh food they could find.<\/p>\n

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All shops have notices requiring customers to maintain la distanza di sicureza<\/em>, a distance of one metre, from each other and staff. Shop staff were wearing disposable gloves, some were wearing face masks. Some, but very few, customers were wearing face masks as well. Hand sanitiser is available by the door.<\/p>\n

There was no palpable sense of panic. Because schools and colleges are closed, many people had children with them. The children were treating the time off as extra holiday.<\/p>\n

Certainly around here there is no \u2018lockdown\u2019 as such, except for the instructions not to travel between towns or provinces. As of today, if I wish to travel between towns, I have to download a form from the internet and fill it in giving details about reasons for travel. There will be checkpoints between towns, I am told. I have not seen any yet.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I drove the 7km to town and the road was quiet, which isn’t unusal. There was no police presence en route and none in town. Traffic seemed normal. All the bars closed at six; certinaly not the norm but no one seemed upset about it. The most obvious change is the presence of security guards at the supermarket entrance to maintain safe numbers inside the store.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/strong>Should I cancel my travel plans in light of the coronavirus outbreak?<\/p>\n

The people I know are self-isolating in the sense that they are not going to work but doing what they can from home. There is no sense of panic but people do comment on the oddness of the situation and the fact that one person in Sansepolcro, a 56 year old man, has the virus. I have met no one who knows who he is. I feel sympathy for the workers in food shops and pharmacies \u2013 the only shops allowed open \u2013 who must in some way feel put at risk while the rest of us can avoid them if we have sufficient supplies.<\/p>\n

I have not been in such a situation before, very few people have. I know there is some (minimal) risk but I feel no fear as such. Even after the panic buying everything seems normal. I am also very lucky; although I live in the Commune of Sansepolcro, I do not live in town; my nearest neighbour is over a mile away. It is sometimes said of Italy, supposedly as a joke, that it has more laws than any other European country but that its citizens obey very few of them. People here in Sansepolcro seem to be listening to the government and getting on with their lives as best they can without any argument.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/strong>Covid-19 outbreak: what travellers need to know about the coronavirus pandemic<\/p>\n

Lastly I would like to add that I am here on my own. In February I bought a puppy. It takes quite a time between buying a puppy and fulfilling all the requirements needed for travel, such as vaccinations for rabies and such. My birthday is in a few days time and I had been hoping that, as I could not get home, my family could join me here. Flights were booked but as the warnings ratcheted up it became obvious that travelling would, apart from anything else, be an antisocial thing to do. Added to that my sons thought that my wife being 84 put her right in the middle of the demographic most likely to be unable to fight the disease. And so I will be celebrating my birthday alone, at least a mile from the nearest human being. On a more or less mawkish note, I am sure my puppy, Billy, will make up for a lot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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