Living in Italy, Europe’s epicentre for COVID-19, has given me a new appreciation for the country I live in. The coronavirus came into Italy quickly and with no remorse – one day tourists were strolling through Rome’s streets, the next, the country went on lockdown. It’s been a whirlwind, but things are starting to get better here!
The lockdown was announced while I was at the colosseum. We had tickets for 8:30, the earliest time slot, and after we entered, the doors shut! We had the colosseum all to ourselves, which was an unexpected benefit, but there was so much confusion after we left. Tourists were at the ticket booths trying to get refunds for their tickets that were no longer good, confused because the ticket offices closed and staff disappeared. It was a pretty chaotic way to start lockdown.
After that, lockdown actually went pretty smoothly. We were only allowed out for necessities – the pharmacy, work (though most was work from home), the doctors, and one person per household was allowed to get food. Everywhere you went, masks were required. The only time we went out for around 60 days was to get food, and unlike other countries, we had full stocks of toilet roll, fruits, vegetables, meats, and canned goods.
At the worst, Italy was getting thousands of new cases per day, though most were up North. Now, things are getting better. We entered phase 2 on the 4th of May, when we were allowed out for exercise within our region without a distance limit. That first day, we walked to all the main sights in Rome, savouring the empty streets. The sounds of tourists no longer drowned out the clangs of pots and pans or music playing from balconies – I felt like I was seeing a different side of Rome.
Now we’re allowed to move regions, eat at restaurants, and go out without needing a note for police officers to check. It’s going to be a while before things go back to normal, and many question if it will ever go back to normal at all. We actually moved from Rome and up North into the mountains. While I love the Eternal City, I’m a nature girl at heart and I was itching to get up here! In the town I’m in, there’s still 1 new case of coronavirus every other day, but things are really getting better. Italy’s opened up to the EU for tourism, so I’m a little nervous there will be a spike in cases, but it’s so reassuring to see the curve flattening. I don’t know how Italy is going to navigate the rest of the virus, as we don’t know how long it’ll last, but one thing’s for sure – things are looking hopeful!
Anya is an adventure travel blogger based in Italy, where she was riding out the Italian lockdown. While she isn’t studying, she blogs about cycling and hiking, from Mongolia to Nepal to Switzerland, at Unexpected Occurrence (https://www.unexpectedoccurrence.com/). You can follow her mishaps and adventures on Instagram and Facebook.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/unexpectedoccurrence