#17 Nonna and Corona (English)

It’s with regret that I have to say goodbye to Corona this week. Wait, what? Don’t worry, this has nothing to do with the virus. Then what’s going on? Well, I’m moving out! My flatmate’s surname happens to be Corona so you can probably imagine how strange it is for him and all the other Coronas in Italy to see their name dominating literally every single media channel. As a matter of fact, it’s a very normal name because Corona in Italian simply means crown, which exists as a surname in many languages. Anyway, my move is coming up so a busy and quite atypical week is ahead. Business as usual, I’d say!  

It gives a kick to see your name right under the headline of an article

Friday morning was quite nerve-racking, but in a good way. Having said that of course, the subject is very serious and we all wanted the situation to be different, I was very excited when a well-rated, English-speaking platform approached me to write a news article about the impact of the coronavirus on the city of Rome. It gives a kick to see your name right under the headline of an article. Admittedly, it was quite a challenge to write the article in such a way that it was objective, but at the same time reflected the prevailing sentiment among the inhabitants of Rome since emotions are slowly starting to run high here. 

But after a quick inspection I had to conclude that only four products were getting stocked massively in the Roman households: pasta, passata (pureed tomatoes), olive oil and tissues. The essence of Italy basically

A little less than two weeks ago, the coronavirus broke out on a larger scale in northern Italy and the media were full of it. The number of cases rose from three to several hundred in a few days, making Italy the first European country where the virus seriously began to spread. Despite the hourly updates we received in the Italian media, there wasn’t exactly a ripple through Rome. After all, the vast majority of the cases were in northern Italy, quite far away from here. I was convinced that the Romans were not so worried about the whole situation yet, so when I went out to do some groceries last Monday, seeing some empty shelves in the supermarket took me by surprise. But after a quick inspection I had to conclude that only four products were getting stocked massively in the Roman households: pasta, passata (pureed tomatoes), olive oil and tissues. The essence of Italy basically. The week went by, there were no corona cases detected in Rome, and after that one Monday on which people did a bit more shopping than usual – better safe than sorry – the supermarket shelves were well stocked again. During the whole week I only saw two people walking around with mouth caps and there was hardly any talk about it. The people would only bring it up very briefly in their chitchats to then immediately get on with their day as they normally would. Everyone who knows me, knows that – on average – I sneeze about twenty times a day (yes, even when I don’t have a cold). So, of course jokes were made by my friends hiding dramatically under the bar while pulling their sweaters in front of their mouths when I had to sneeze again due to a dust piece swirling around, but that actually only caused hilarity rather than panic. 

It’s something very weird, bizarre even, to read how people are most worried about coming to your city – as if it has become the epicentre of a desolate area where people are terrified to death – while you look outside and see how everybody just gets around to enjoy the beaming sun and to drink their coffee at the bar making you conclude really nothing is wrong at all

Yet it would soon turn out that the coronavirus would have a huge impact on Rome in a different way than people actually getting infected by the virus. Already from the very first moment of the outbreak in Northern Italy, I was overwhelmed by messages from family and friends in the Netherlands and other parts of Europe. When I opened the Dutch news app on Monday and saw that the two main articles were about the coronavirus in Italy, including a live blog and all kinds of questions about whether people could still go on holiday to Italy, I realised that the panic in the Netherlands was much bigger than here in Rome. Also in the various international Facebook groups, one message after another was posted as to whether it was still safe and responsible to travel to the eternal city. It’s something very weird, bizarre even, to read how people are most worried about coming to your city – as if it has become the epicentre of a desolate area where people are terrified to death – while you look outside and see how everybody just gets around to enjoy the beaming sun and to drink their coffee at the bar making you conclude really nothing is wrong at all. I do understand the sentiment abroad however, it’s only logical that people outside Italy imagine Rome in a completely different way on the basis of just corona messages. Yet, it’s very far from the truth.

Where the Italians – often accused of reacting a little over-dramatically – kept their head cool, the rest of the world seemed to have become hysterical

As the week passed, the Romans started to understand the seriousness of the situation. Not about the coronavirus itself, but about the huge impact it is already having on the city’s economy. Where the Italians – often accused of reacting a little over-dramatically – kept their head cool, the rest of the world seemed to have become hysterical. So while the locals continue their business as usual, tourists have started to avoid Italy en masse. In my article that has been published, I mention the very confronting numbers: for March almost 90% of all tourist bookings (hotels, excursions) have been cancelled, and new bookings have decreased by no less than 60% compared to the average amount this time a year. Calculations made by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera teach us that the restaurants in Rome miss out on as much as three million euros in sales every single day. You don’t have to be an economist to understand what a gigantic disaster this is going to be for the local eateries. The past few days it was already noticeable that the city centre of Rome was considerably less busy than normal. Both Italians and expats have started to share pictures of sunny aperitivo’s in parks and on the beach with the text “what’s really going on in Italy” by means of denouncing the in their eyes exaggerated reaction of the many tourists cancelling their trips. Official tourist organisations have also launched large-scale campaigns full of beautiful footage of La Dolce Vita with the text “Italy doesn’t stop” to convince foreign tourists not to avoid Italy. But the negative effects are already here. As always in a crisis situation, two different opinions are beginning to arouse. At one side, there’s the people who think that the media have blown up a virus that doesn’t really seem much worse than the flu into something so frightening that it causes enormous economic damage to Rome, and at the other side there’s people who still think that no risk should be taken and agree with the fact that for example, the United States have made an official statement that advices people to avoid all unnecessary travel to Italy. In my own circle of friends, however, the opinion strongly dominates that the media has seriously blown it up and that Italy – as the country whose economy depends heavily on tourism – is left now with dealing with this critical situation. Especially after we’ve learned that, as expected, the virus has also reached the Netherlands, Germany, and the rest of Europe.

Because as long as there is no effective vaccine against the coronavirus on the market yet, humour is the best medicine

But Italy wouldn’t be called Italy if it didn’t respond with humour. Because as long as there is no effective vaccine against the coronavirus on the market yet, humour is the best medicine. Last Saturday morning a video went viral on social media of a Neapolitan nonna giving tips against the coronavirus. It was put together very well, referring very accurately and with a lot of humour to the wide spread clichés and prejudices that actually contain many truths. And where I shared the official precautions in my published news article, here in my own blog I can share the tips of this sassy nonna. Of course, she starts out very indignant about the fact that people still have to be told to wash their hands properly. How many times did nonna tell you?! Kisses and cuddles are dangerous now, and anyone who has ever been to Naples understands that that this precaution really has an impact on everyday life. Her solution? A wink! Ciao nonna Maria! *wink*. She continues with the cliché about how the people in the South of Italy consider all Northern Italians as family, parenti, and in the event of food shortages, she simply sends them packages of homemade Southern Italian delicacies. As she has always done, because a Neapolitan nonna lives in a constant fear that her grandchildren don’t eat well. And the fact that these grandchildren stay in Northern Italy – let alone abroad – means by definition that they don’t eat well, because she didn’t prepare the food. Then she starts talking about how we shouldn’t discriminate, the Chinese are not to blame for this coronavirus outbreak after all. Because while the coronavirus will disappear again, discrimination doesn’t, according to her. An outright hit and a direct attack on the racism that unfortunately still exists among some Italians from time to time. Thanks to nonna’s touching way of passing the message, it hopefully sticks. No, this nonna doesn’t get upset easily by a virus, until the moment she is told that she can’t use her dear handkerchief anymore. Her face pulls in, as she has been using this embroidered piece of cloth for fifty years now already. My favourite part of the video is when she gives tips on what to do when you are quarantined for a fortnight. What do you mean, what should I do? Take advantage of it, of course! You can finally binge-watch whole seasons of your favourite soap series – the Italians are quite famous for being avid television viewers – and those windows need to get a wash again. Allright nonna. But even more important is the fact – and that’s the moment her eyes really start shining – you now have the time to make polpette al sugo (meatballs in tomato sauce) that can simmer on the stove for so long that they become worth their weight in gold by the time it’s Easter. Oh, and using mince of veal is her secret tip.

But in case I can’t return to Rome because they would unexpectedly put me in quarantine, then thanks to nonna I now know how I’m going to keep myself busy those fourteen days

As soon as I’ve unpacked my belongings in my new house, I can start packing my suitcase again as I’m flying to the Netherlands for a short trip this Thursday. Of course, I just assume that my flight will not get cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions. But in case I can’t return to Rome because they would unexpectedly put me in quarantine, then thanks to nonna I now know how I’m going to keep myself busy those fourteen days. So who wants to come over for dinner at Easter?

Want to stay up to date completely about my Operation La Dolce Vita? Follow me on Instagram: @annecheama