Quarantined Italians have been singing and playing music from their balconies to express solidarity and suppress boredom during the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown
Videos have been shared on social media of Italians singing, dancing and playing music together while in lockdown due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
In what is the nation worst affected by the pandemic after China, daily life has virtually ground to a halt, with only some food shops, banks and pharmacies remaining open, and many streets eerily deserted.
Neighbours have tried to boost their morale by singing together, including in the Tuscan city of Siena, as Twitter user @valemercurii revealed. “People of my hometown #Siena sing a popular song from their houses along an empty street to warm their hearts during the Italian #Covid_19#lockdown,” read the tweet.
Also on Twitter, Ryan Meilak shared a video of neighbours in Naples singing from their windows and balconies, “so everyone feels less lonely”. “Here is #Naples singing “Abbracciame” (Hug me)”, he wrote.
Italy. People locked inside turn to their windows and balconies singing so everyone feels less lonely. Here is #Naples singing “Abbracciame” (Hug me). #Coronavirus #CoronavirusUSA pic.twitter.com/DHVPvxbB8d
— Ryan Meilak (@rmeilak) March 13, 2020
Residents in the port city of Salerno, in the south of the country, have been recorded singing the country’s national anthem from their balconies. Another Twitter user, Leonardo Carella, has compiled a series of uplifting clips of residents singing, playing instruments and even doing the macarena in cities including Florence, Naples, Siena and Turin. At the start of the chain of videos, Carella wrote: “Italians in lockdown all over Italy are keeping each other company by singing, dancing and playing music from the balconies. A thread to celebrate the resilience of ordinary people.”
Italians in lockdown all over Italy are keeping each other company by singing, dancing and playing music from the balconies. A thread to celebrate the resilience of ordinary people. This is Salerno: pic.twitter.com/3aOchqdEpn
— Leonardo Carella (@leonardocarella) March 13, 2020
And across the country, the slogan “Andrà tutto bene” (everything will be all right) has been widely shared in an attempt to spread hope and reassurance. It echoes the sharing of the word “jiāyóu”, which translates to “add oil” and roughly means “keep up the fight” or “stay strong”, reported the Guardian. Residents in the Chinese province of Wuhan, who went into lockdown at the end of January, chanted the phrase from balconies of their apartments to invoke solidarity with Italians.
Image: Homes in Parma, Italy. Credit: Alex Vasey
Read more: Positive responses to coronavirus
