Waiting out the Coronavirus in Borgo

The 5th in RST's series of accounts by Romans of life under the coronavirus is by Isalena. 

She has lived in the heart of Rome for years, together with her husband and 3 daughters. Her story reflects conditions on April 2. 

Yesterday, I went to buy a medicine which has run out in Italian pharmacies for my aunt.  I ventured to the far side of Piazza San Pietro to try my luck at the Vatican Pharmacy.

The passageway below Largo di Porta Cavallergeri, now
empty.  

Where I live, being a stone’s throw from the colonnade, is usually a throng of locals, tourists, those less fortunate trying to survive on charity and weary sightseers waiting their turn at the trattorie. The walk would have me cutting my way through a forest of selfie-sticks that have just disgorged from buses obstructing the flow of traffic, to pass below Largo di Porta Cavallegeri with its homeless occupants, before walking amongst pilgrims, enthusiastic would-be museum ticket vendors, mendicants and beggars.

The ramp leading up to Piazza San Pietro 

Yesterday there was none of this.  Restaurants all shuttered. An occasional person masked and gloved, walking purposefully. The only traffic was local buses, lucky to have 2 passengers aboard.  Not a soul in the underpass or the ramp leading up to San Pietro.  Enjoying the eerie emptiness of the Piazza in the glorious spring sunshine were just a couple of Polizia, with others on the outside were barring entrance to anyone else.

But on the north side of the colonnade, there was a different scene. A meandering line, of needy folks, each at the prescribed distance from each other, waiting, perhaps for a soup kitchen to open. Nuns helping an elderly bag lady. It was animated, friends calling to each other, dogs playing. 

A brief glimpse of ordinary street life –troubling yet heartwarming.

I had no luck at the Vatican Pharmacy.

Life in Rome under the Coronavirus, by Larry Litman

Here at RST, we are reaching out to people living in Rome who are experiencing the impact of the coronavirus on the Eternal City and on their daily lives.  We saw this Facebook post by our friend Larry Litman less than 24 hours ago and thought our readers would appreciate it.  

Larry lived in Hoboken, New Jersey, before moving to Rome in 2007.  In the early 1970s he studied at Loyola University of Chicago's Rome Center, now the John Felice Rome Center on Monte Mario. "That was when I fell in love with the city of Rome," Larry writes, "and then had the dream of making Rome my home."

Larry is a teacher librarian at AmBrit International School and is active at St. Paul's Within the Walls (the Episcopal Church on via Nazionale).  He also volunteers at the Non-Catholic Cemetery. He has two adult children and two grandchildren living in New York City.

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18 Days Since School Closed 13th Day of Lockdown 4th Sunday of Lent 22 March, 2020 The Second Day of Spring

An Update from Rome:

Things are not getting better yet. The death toll continues to rise, not just here in Italy, but around the world. According to the Italian Ministry of Health website (updated at 5:00 pm 22 March):

Currently Testing Positive: 42,681 Recovered: 6,072 Deaths: 4,825 Total number of infected: 53,578

These are staggering numbers. In our region of Lazio there are 661 people hospitalized, 591 in recovery and 70 receiving intensive therapy. It is much worse in the north. (Just in the province/county of Rome there are a total of 893 people with Covid-19.)

So, how does one live in this environment?

My Sunday was fairly normal, with some modifications. I got up and participated in the Eucharist at St. Paul’s within the Walls Episcopal Church through ZOOM. Afterwards, most of us regathered for Coffee Hour in another Zoom meeting. It was great to interact with the

Virtual coffee hour via Zoom after online church service.

people I would usually be having conversation with on a Sunday morning. Vincenzo made a pasta carbonara & salad for lunch, we took a nap, did some reading and now I am marinating pork chops that I will cook for dinner. (I also made a carrot and raisin salad.)

We’ll watch a Netflix film after dinner. That’s almost a normal Sunday, but we never left our apartment!

Larry's condominium courtyard

This past week I went out into our condominium garden area, a small park surrounded by the five buildings of the complex. It was the first time I walked on the ground level since the lockdown started. Vincenzo has been good about going shopping every few days for the things we need. A supermarket is a short drive away and we have a butcher, small bodega and bakery just across the piazza. Amazon has delivered things like baking soda and baking powder that I like to use for baking, but are not usually found in Italian markets. (I baked banana bread yesterday.)

On Monday I return to school, via eLearning. I will “stop in” to visit a couple classes during the live sessions with their teachers and I am working to provide assistance and resources to enrich the learning experiences of our students. It looks like we will be staying out of school into May, maybe even to the end of the year. We have been learning how to do this as we go, and each week our teaching and learning are getting better.

I am enjoying more face time than usual with my kids and grandkids, as well as being in touch with friends more than usual, from California to Cincinnati, NYC and Canada.

How do I feel? Probably like a cloistered nun! I miss the church bells across the piazza. They used to ring several times a day before the Masses, but there are no more public Masses. A priest friend in Germany sent me a recording of his church bell!

I continue to be grateful for a supportive partner and good health. I am thankful for family and friends around the world with whom I can stay in touch because of 21st Century technology.