Famiglia

At the time, it was staggering to try and grasp the gravity in which Italy found itself. They hoped the worst had passed. Then a second surge rolled in. The Italian Prime Minister made a speech, basically threw up his hands, telling the world that Italy had done all it could for its people, that they did everything their services could accomplish in terms of flattening the curve. The rest of the fallout, he maintained, was in God’s hands.

Why was it the first EU region to get the largest surge outside of China? There were a number of theories. Their lockdowns happened behind the curve. Cultural exchanges with China transpired in January of 2020, at the behest of the Italian cultural minister, who hosted a concert with Chinese delegates. Some geneticists posed the idea that Italian genetic codes might’ve been less predisposed to fight off Covid-19. Italy hosted the world’s second largest elderly population; the median age of patients there was said to be 67 years old (the median age of patients in China was said to be 45).  According to reports from National Public Radio, of the recorded deaths in Italy in spring of 2020, 12 percent died directly from the coronavirus. 88 percent had at least one pre-morbidity, often two or three.  We found out quickly that Covid takes full advantage of prior existing conditions. Asthmatics and heart disease sufferers the world over quaked in their boots.

Romanticized images and videos of quarantined Italians singing to each other across the canals were shared across the web. Some of Italy’s infection rate was probably due to the way Italians lived their lives, which I was inclined to relate to, since I myself am Italian blood, with a dash of English and Scandinavian seasoning. Italians are a very social breed. They love to congregate. They’re super touchy-feely, demonstrative, dramatic, family-oriented, raucous and rowdy, and unapologetic for their exuberance. They’re a highly expressive people.

Their culture was primed for viral transmission as they often lived their lives among crowds, in close quarters, family dinners, and football games. All those stereotype tropes we see in films pretty much played out in real life as well. Unlike much of America, they actively involved their elders in social gatherings. Famiglia tends to be their highest priority and age isn’t a factor for them. It wasn’t hard to see how the vast majority of their senior population were going to be the most vulnerable. Undoubtedly one of the hardest things to do for Italians was to quarantine. They didn’t like sitting at home watching TV.

At the onset of global lockdowns, most everybody found out how much we need to go outside from time to time. Italy had one of the roughest roads in that regard. Humans are wired to live and breathe under sunshine and stars, contrary to our modern insistence on being glued to our screens. Most Italians found it anathema to adhere to such restrictions. Many continued to live their lives despite the shelter-in-place orders.

I grew up in an Italian environment. My immigrant grandfather moved in with us after my grandmother passed. He tried to teach me some of the Italian language. I was too much an arrogant punk as a kid to listen. He was a scion of a culture that had given us the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, and a good chunk of classic philosophy. It’s a highbrow kind of place because it’s earned the right to be so, what with all the invasions, the back-and-forth nation-state politicking, a couple thousand years’ worth of blood, and more or less being the foundation for the best art and food on the planet.

My mother used to cook lavish country Italian feasts every week. Her lasagna still remains unparalleled, two decades after her passing. My mother was born Swedish, but after she married my full-blooded Italian father when they were teens, she adopted much of the culture, and most definitely the demonstrative vocal outbursts. I’m all about The Boot and its praises, from Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns to Michelangelo’s artwork. What can I say, I’m a Gen X kid whose father reared me to dig both Clint Eastwood and museums.

I cherry pick my melting pot cultures of origin same as most Americans. Sadly, I don’t have the same proclivities to fashion as many Italians. Few folks have seen me dress outside of my usual uniform; jeans, concert tees, leather jacket, and sneakers. 80’s Gen X’er thing, never grew out of it. While I was raised as a Roman Catholic, I no longer adhere to that doctrine, so Vatican City and its environs don’t enthrall me nearly as much as the Italian countryside, which to my vicarious eyes, is about as good as life gets.

I do enjoy a café latte and biscotti biscuit on occasion. Not so much the opera…SoCal ripped the classical stuff straight outta me, replacing it with the likes of Van Halen, In n’ Out, and the middle-class, white-trash zeitgeist of 20^th century California. Yet the beauty of Italy is irrefutable, what with Rome, Florence, Venice, several World Heritage sites, far more than settings for mob movies. Italy is one of the great beating hearts of the human race. It was difficult to watch Italy suffer through those initial outbreaks, especially since they were so wonderfully inclusive with their elders. After all their centuries of heralding their older folks, to watch something like Covid ravage those ranks was heartbreaking.

Yet Italy was going to get through it.

Italy always comes out the other side.

No big shocker there, the Boot being a founding father of humanity. Its people remain bedrocks of modern civilization. Few Italians aren’t versed as children in Dante’s Divine Comedy. Long before Covid-19, they were well aware of the flip-flopping pages of purgatory, hell, and paradise. 

*Compiled from March 30, 2020