19 unforgettable photos from a year of lockdowns in Italy

The anniversary of Italy’s strict nationwide coronavirus lockdown comes as the country is considering new measures and the death toll hits 100,000.

Published: 9 March 2021 12:16 CET
Updated: 15 March 2021 10:47 CET

19 unforgettable photos from a year of lockdowns in Italy

Photo: Alberto PIZZOLI/AFP

On March 9th 2020, Italy became the first country other than China to declare a nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

Former Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte made the announcement in a late-night televised address as the coronavirus crisis, which suddenly exploded in the north of the country in late February, was quickly worsening.

Several northern Italian regions had already been placed under lockdown on March 7th, and Italy had already shut down schools and museums in response to the crisis.

The strict lockdown in Italy lasted almost three months.

While all non-essential businesses were shut down and police patrols instructed people to remain indoors, masks were not yet mandatory or even recommended for most people as the disease which came to be called Covid-19 was still little understood.

On the day Italy’s first lockdown was announced, the number of known coronavirus infections in Italy was around 8,000 and the death toll was 463.

A year later, Italy has just passed the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths and there have been more than three million confirmed cases in the country.

Italy has not declared another nationwide lockdown. The country has instead been under a tiered system of regional rules since November.

However, the government is this week considering a second nationwide lockdown, potentially of 3-4 weeks, or other tightened measures as cases are now rising sharply again in the country.

Experts warn that a third wave of infections in Italy is now being fuelled by more infectious new strains of the virus.

A potential second lockdown is a prospect no one will relish, with last year’s closure still fresh in our memories.

Here’s a look back at some of the most striking and unforgettable images we’ve published on The Local during the past year of reporting on lockdowns and other restrictions.

Italian police officers patrol the road into the small northern Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020, after it became the centre of a new coronavirus outbreak and worldwide fears over the epidemic spiralled. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA/AFP)

A picture taken on March 8, 2020 shows an empty road leading to Milan’s Linate Airport, after millions of people were placed under forced quarantine in northern Italy. The government approved drastic measures in an attempt to halt the spread of the coronavirus. (Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI/AFP)

Residents line up at a safety distance as they wait to shop at a supermarket near Milan on March 11, 2020 – a day after Italy imposed unprecedented national restrictions on 60 million people. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA AFP)

A man wearing a face mask walks by the Spanish Steps at Rome’s deserted Piazza di Spagna on March 12, 2020, after Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of coronavirus. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

A municipal worker sprays disinfectant around the Rialto Bridge in Venice on March 13th, 2020. (Photo by MARCO SABADIN / AFP)

Pope Francis prays in an empty St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on March 27th. (Photo by Yara NARDI/POOL/AFP)

A man walks his dog in front of the Colosseum in central Rome on April 3, 2020, during the ongoing coroanvirus lockdown. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)

A resident uses pot lids to join in a “noise flash mob” in Rome, aimed at breaking the city’s silence during lockdown. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO/AFP)

The waters of Venice canals turned clear during lockdown as a result of the stoppage of motorboat traffic. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO/AFP)

MORE PHOTOS:Silent squares and clear waters as Venice stands empty

Girls play tennis on the rooftops of their apartment buildings in Liguria on April 19, 2020. (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP)

Residents display Italian flags in the Garbatella district of Rome on April 25, 2020 during a Liberation Day musical flashmob, with people singing Italian partisan song ‘Bella Ciao’ from their windows and balconies. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

A child rides a scooter as grass is seen growing between cobblestones in Rome’s Piazza Navona on April 29, 2020 during the country’s ongoing lockdown. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP)

A woman waves the Italian flag on May 4, 2020 in Milan as Italy starts to ease its lockdown – the world’s longest at this point. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)

This photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows Italian riot police standing guard below apartment buildings in Mondragone, southern Italy, placed back under a local lockdown due to an outbreak of coronavirus infections, triggering protests and clashes between the residents and other locals. (Photo by STRINGER/ANSA/AFP)

Gondoliers and customers wear masks in Venice on June 12, 2020 as the country eases its lockdown to allow summer tourism. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO/AFP)

A waiter in Florence passes a glass of wine into a building through a *buchetta del vino*, or wine window – a Renaissance-era tradition revived during lockdown. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

Two 12-year-old students sit outside their school in Turin in November 2020, in protest against closures amid renewed coronavirus restrictions. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)

Military vehicles patrol Rome’s central Piazza del Popolo on December 31, 2020, as a 10pm-7am curfew is implemented as part of a raft of temporary lockdown measures, intended to ward off a third wave of coronanvirus infections. (Photo by Tiziana FABI/AFP)

A Venetian resident wearing a carnival costume parades at St. Mark’s Square in Venice on February 16, 2021, despite the carnival officiallu being cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by François-Xavier MARIT/AFP)

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