Italy should be everyone’s favourite country.
And why not – Italy is home to la dolce vita, literally “the sweet life.” Italians know how to enjoy themselves and under normal circumstances, they’re quite happy to share this knowledge and experience with the rest of the world.
Italy is the country that invented pizza and pasta. Need I say more?
But they not only created those delicacies, they also perfected coffee — cappuccino anyone? — and ice cream, which they call gelato.
These pleasures may seem trivial in the face of COVID-19, but Italy is not just a master when it comes to food. Italy is a place where art is a priority, a public celebration that is found everywhere, in all walks of life.
There’s the Trevi fountain, one of thousands of carved fountains found throughout the country. There’s the Sistine Chapel, painted by masters during the Renaissance 500 years ago, a literal message from the past about beauty and life.
There’s Venice, an entire city that is a work of art atop a lagoon, a miracle from the day it was built.
But that’s not all. Consider Lamborghinis and Ferraris, the opera, soccer and Leonardo da Vinci and you will begin to get some idea of the gusto with which Italians approach life. Their language is a marvel from its sounds to its meanings. From balcony to graffiti to ghetto to vista, English owes a lot to Italian.
Beyond all of the glittering treasures, delectable dishes and sublime sounds, it’s the people who are Italy’s greatest treasure. And now they’re suffering.
As of today, March 20, 2020, COVID-19 is hitting Italy harder than any other nation. Italy has had nearly 50,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 4,000 deaths. People have been locked down for 11 days now, but the disease shows no sign of slowing down. Our hearts and minds must be with Italy now and if anything positive is to come from this, we must heed warnings Italians are sending us. We need to stay home.
On a positive note, Venice, which just a few months ago was reported to be “overrun” by more than 36 million tourists a year, is now empty. That wouldn’t normally be positive, but apparently, fish are starting to return to the city’s canals and dolphins have been seen off the coast nearby.
One day this will be over. When that happens, I know Italy and its people will bounce back. They’re resilient and they will get through this. In the meantime, we need to support them every way we can.
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