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Life in Italy: ‘How our village kept its sense of community throughout lockdown’

Public spaces are famously central to the Italian way of life - so how did people fare without them during lockdown? Writer Mark Hinshaw describes how his village in Le Marche is keeping community spirit alive in the time of social distancing.

Published: 20 May 2020 11:57 CEST
Updated: 21 May 2020 12:51 CEST

We in Italy are in the process of emerging from two continuous months of being strictly “confined to quarters.”

Most people have paid attention to the guidelines for staying at home, social distancing and wearing gloves and masks when outside. And it has worked, as both the number of virus cases and deaths plummeted to low, pre-lockdown levels.

Today, in mid- May, Italy isn’t even in the top five problematic countries. While parts of the US are only now beginning to see their figures spike upward.

So we are all ready to re-open. Under new guidelines, we will soon be able to move about the country, see friends and family, shop and visit places as we wish with no special “self-certification” forms. We will even be able to visit other countries in the EU and vice versa.

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We will not, however, see visitors from the US and other parts of the world yet. No hordes of tourists will be packing restaurants, queuing up at museums, or surging along the winding lanes of Venice Which is perhaps for the best. Venice definitely needs a rest.

What has been fascinating to observe is the Italian adaptation to social distancing.

As a culture, Italians love to congregate, eat long meals with friends and family in close conversational proximity, and spend time walking about streets and piazzas in their daily passeggiata. Sitting at tables and slowly sipping prosecco is a major part of the daily routine.

So how would Italians behave in this era of personal limitations? Frankly, I was worried that very quickly the restrictions would be ignored.

But that does not appear to be the case. Certainly in our village where we see behavior every day.

Much has been written about the “Swedish Model” of dealing with the virus. I would like to describe the “Italian Model” of dealing with public space and social separation.

Earlier this week we went out for our own passeggiata . Normally, this consists of a slow, meandering stroll that can take thirty minutes to an hour, depending on how many people we meet and how many impromptu conversations we engage in. This one exceeded an hour.

There are four places in the village where people tend to spend time congregating:

The square by the town gate, flanked by a meat market, a grocery, the post office, and the town bakery.
The space in the main central street, located between a big coffee bar and a well-known family-owned restaurant.
A similar space between another coffee bar and the town’s community hall.
The broad space in front of a food market at the south end of the main street where notices of live musical performances and local deaths are posted.

Three of these spaces have had people in them, albeit spaced apart. All but a few wore masks. And yet they still greeted each other enthusiastically. They still engaged in animated conversations. And they still clearly enjoyed each other’s company.

As the aged American expat in town, who is within a vulnerable demographic, many people have regularly asked how I am doing. It is a sweet and caring gesture.

On the walk, an open-sided truck was parked n the edge of one of the spaces and was doing a brisk business with its artfully arranged array of vegetables and fruit freshly picked from nearby farms. The proprietor had set up a clear zone using posts and ropes around the truck to keep customers at a distance. You told him what you wanted, he held it up for approval, and dropped it in a sack. A simple but effective accommodation.

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Similarly, the fish vending truck that comes in twice a week takes its position in another one of the spaces. The fish are displayed, as always, behind a curved glass case and countertop. And as always, customers stand – albeit separated – and discuss the best selections. Every Tuesday and Friday, this truck appears at 11:30am on the dot. You can hear it coming from a distance due to the announcement of “Pesci! Pesci! …Pesci Oggi!” (“Fish! Fish! …Fish Today!”) loudly shouted by the driver into a hand-held microphone.

I have been taken by how everyone in the village seems to still be enjoying the public spaces. They are just doing this while being mindful of the safety of others.

This attitude of collective responsibility is what we most noticed when we first arrived. Everyone exhibits a genuine caring for others. It did not take very long for us to be part of a simple social pact – considering the health and welfare of your fellow citizen.

Almost on a daily basis we are reminded of this precious social order — the willingness to give kindnesses.

One elderly neighbor gives us bottles of cooked wines she makes; we give her help when she needs it. Another person in town hands us fresh eggs from her chickens; my wife hems curtains for her. Just today, our auto mechanic dropped off several pots of mums he saw at a nursery; he had previously overheard my wife say she likes them.

As we continued our walk, passing shops, the owners inside waved and shouted out greetings. People conversed from their balconies and windows.

We always chat briefly with the affable postal carrier and the person delivering food to our door. Despite the physical separation, residents have managed to nurture the sense of community.

The important role of public place has been maintained even though it has been temporarily muted.

Mark Hinshaw is a retired city planner who moved to Le Marche with his wife two years ago. A former columnist for The Seattle Times, he contributes to journals, books and other publications.

Would you like to write about your life in Italy for The Local? Get in touch.

Member comments

Anonymous - 21 May 2020 at 16:22 CEST

We also live in a tiny village in Piemonte (600 residents listed, but many of those actually live in Turin or Milan). I have to agree with Mark’s observations on mindfulness, sense of community and flexibility in finding ways to enjoy each other’s company. My group of women friends who usually meet for coffee, or aperitivi, or country walks have learned to Skype. Our cafe owner who has remained open as a news stand takes orders for fresh briosche via What’s App and we sit, well spaced, at the outside tables to eat them. One neighbor, who was ill but, quarantined at home alone, grocery list to someone heading to the market. Our tiny shop allows one masked, gloved person at a time and the post office is like a surgical quite. But, I hear no whining, no anger, no demanding “freedom”. Instead, I hear a lot of “Pazienza!”, chuckling about grey roots, plans for “when we can”.
Anonymous - 21 May 2020 at 17:10 CEST

Beautiful article. This is what most of us living in the suburbs of America are missing, community. I’m having visions of my dads village outside of Avellino. So much love for neighbors and fish mongers alike!! Thank you for the reminder!

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Ice to AC: Nine of the most common American misconceptions about Italy

It’s no secret that Americans love to visit Italy; the Washington Post predicted in December that the country would be Americans’ top foreign tourist destination for 2023, and the volume of US visitors who’ve arrived in Italy since then appears to have borne this out.

But while many Americans have a deep knowledge of – and love for – Italian culture, there are some surprisingly enduring myths about Italy that can be found in the USA specifically.

Some come close to the truth, while others fall wide of the mark.

There is no ice in Europe/Italian restaurants charge for ice

Fiction – Americans love ice, beverages are routinely served with it and refrigerators in the US often have some type of ice dispenser attached to the door.

But in Italy, ice is simply less prioritised. While ice in your drink will usually not cost you extra, you might need to specifically request it. Soft drinks in Italy are usually served without ice, so if you want your beverage iced, you need to request the drink con ghiaccio – with ice.

A classic Italian spritz should always come with ice. Photo by Tomasz Rynkiewicz on Unsplash

Italian homes don’t have dryers

Fact (mostly) – Tumble dryers do exist in Italy, but they’re rare. A survey published by Italy’s national statistics office (Istat) in 2014 found that just 3.3 percent of Italian households had one, whereas 96.2 percent had a washing machine and 39.3 percent a dishwasher.

Those washing lines strung with laundry hanging above the heads of passers by aren’t there just to create a quaint backdrop for photos – people make wide use of the abundant sun to air dry their clothes and sheets.

That does not mean that Italians in cities don’t occasionally use clothes dryers though if they’re in a rush; some might take items to a nearby laundromat.

McDonald’s is healthier in Italy

Fact (sort of) – McDonald’s uses different ingredients based on the country, and the Big Mac in Italy is (slightly) healthier than the one sold in the United States. It is slightly less calorific, with 509 kCal in contrast to the American Big Mac’s 540 kCal per 100g.

The Italian Big Mac also has less salt and fat, but it does not compare to the world’s healthiest Big Mac (found in Israel).

McDonald’s in Italy also uses EU-sourced ingredients, and the EU restricts the usage of additives and growth hormones. For example Azodicarbonamide which is used to bleach flour, is banned in the EU, but not in the United States, where McDonald’s was still using it as of 2016.

It is true, however, that you can buy beer in McDonald’s in Italy.

McDonald’s burgers are marginally healthy in Italy compared to the US. Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Italians drive small cars

Fiction (increasingly) – Think of Italian cars, and you might picture a classic Fiat 500 puttering around picturesque cobbled streets – but that’s all changing.

2021 was a historic year for the Italian automotive industry: the sale of SUVs surpassed those of medium-sized sedans for the first time, claiming 48 percent of the market share compared to the sedan’s 45 percent.

That may not match the US, where SUVs and pick-up trucks currently account for around 73 percent of vehicles sold, but it’s a huge increase from 2012, when SUVs made up just 17 percent of vehicle sales in Italy.

There are no free public toilets

Fact (mostly) – You will occasionally find an Italian town or city that offers some free public toilets. For the most part though, you’ll have to pay, including in train stations – and even paid public toilets are few and fair between.

Instead, you’re better off heading to one of the many caffe-bars found all over the country and paying for a euro for a bottle of water or a coffee so you can use their facilities – if you ask nicely, you might even be allowed to go for free.

Metro stations, supermarkets and grocery stores tend to not have any toilets at all, and neither will most clothing stores. One place you will find plenty of free public bathrooms, though, is a motorway service station.

Something that strikes many visitors to Italy as odd is the lack of seats on public toilets. Exactly why this is the case is debated, but there’s a general consensus that the phenomenon has rapidly accelerated in the past couple of decades.

A street sign at an antiques fair in Turin. Free toilets in Italy are few and far between. Photo by rashid khreiss on Unsplash

Italy doesn’t have air conditioning

Fact (sort of) – There’s not no air conditioning in Italy – in fact data from Italy’s national statistics office showed that one in two Italian households had AC in 2021.

It’s far less popular than in the US, though, where 90 percent of households have air conditioning. There’s still not much of a culture of AC in Italy, where many believe it will give you a colpo d’aria leading to at best a sore neck and at worst pneumonia – so even households that have a unit tend to use it sparingly.

If your hotel or Airbnb doesn’t specifically mention AC, you can assume it doesn’t have it.

Coca-Cola tastes different in Italy

Fact – While Coke is available almost everywhere in the world, the actual ingredients in Coca-Cola are different in some countries, which could lead some Coke connoisseurs to notice a difference in taste between the products in the US and those in the EU.

The biggest difference is the regular Coke – in the US this uses high fructose corn syrup while in Europe cane sugar is used to sweeten the product, resulting in a significant difference in taste.

You’re much more likely in Italy to come across Coca Zero, the zero-sugar version of Coca-Cola, than Coca-Coca Light, the European version of Diet Coke, which has always been hard to find and which some online sources say Italy stopped distributing altogether in 2022.

Coke in the US: different to its European counterparts. Photo by Cody Engel on Unsplash

You don’t need to tip

Fact – It’s not necessary to tip after a restaurant meal in Italy. However, this is a matter of personal choice and you are free to do so (tipping certainly won’t cause upset).

Diners do often leave some change after a particularly enjoyable meal. In terms of how much to give, some people round up a bill to include a tip, while others give what spare change they have.

Some people may also opt to tip other professionals as well, such as taxi drivers and cleaners, but again – this is optional and typically not a large quantity. In some apartment buildings, residents may give a Christmas card with money inside to the portiere (doorman) as a kind of annual tip.

All cars are stick shift

Mostly fact – In the United States, stick shift vehicles are becoming a thing of the past, but in Italy they are still very much being bought and driven.

As of 2018, around 20 percent of new cars sold in Italy were automatic – which is much higher than the less-than-one percent sold in the 1980s, but still a lot less than the US’s figure of 96 percent.

That said, around 70 percent of SUVs sold in Italy use automatic transition, so with the popularity of these larger vehicles on the rise, you can expect to see more automatics on Italian roads in the future.

What do you think? Have you noticed any other common beliefs or misconceptions about Italy in the US, or elsewhere? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

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