After Covid-19 spread throughout Italy, the government declared a nationwide lockdown. According to a BBC News report, Italy was runner up after China of the country most severely impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak, with over 15,000 infections and cases confirmed in each of the 20 Italian regions. Now, as of March 16th, Italy has reported over 24,000, with active infections over 20,000, which is more than twice as many as China’s active infections on this date.
In this challenging time, Italians remind the world of the importance of good attitude, community spirit, and love for life and expression. Touching footage from the Italian city of Siena shows its passionate residents leaning from their windows to sing with each other during the lockdown.
The song they sing is a classic local folk song called Canto Della Verbena (While Siena Sleeps). Traditionally, people of Siena would sing the song as a means of expressing pride in the beautiful Tuscan city.
David Allegranti, a writer who uploaded the video, said:
In Siena, the city to which I am very attached, you stay at home, but you sing together as if you were on the street. I was moved.
The video, which shows the resilience, love, and pride of the Italians, deeply touched many people around the world. “As evening falls in locked-down Siena, citizens confined to their homes are singing together as if they are on the street. What a moving testament to the instinctively musical & open-hearted people of Italy,” replied Howard Goodall, a composer, broadcaster, and writer.
A Twitter user said:
Imagine the whole world singing like this from their houses. No hate, no nothing. Just unified for once. Love this so much.
Italy’s nationwide lockdown has left nearly 16 million people successfully quarantined, with most shops closed except for pharmacies, supermarkets, and some places that sell stocks of food. Universities and schools are shut down until April 3rd. Residents are forbidden to gather in public, and a nationwide suspension has been placed on all sporting events.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told Italian residents:
I thank you. I know you are changing your habits and making sacrifices, and I know it is not easy. But all your sacrifices are offering a precious contribution to the country. Do not think you will be able to see a change tomorrow or the next few days. We’ll have to wait two weeks to see the impact of these measures. We need to stay calm, collected, careful, and responsible.
However, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, said they are already starting to see improvements in the first region of the outbreak after such measures were forced. He hopes that since Italy was the first country in Europe to be affected, it means it will be the first one to get rid of the issue.
Watch the heartwarming video below, of the Italians all singing together in harmony, as one:
