(PHOTO and TEXT by LUCA ZENNARO)
A deafening, brutal silence. A new feeling that those who live in the city can hardly live. The total lack of children on the street have disappeared, closed in the house for weeks now. At first happy not to go to school, but now the distance from their classmates is felt. You don't hear their cheerful shouting, their screams, they don't see you go to school and they don't clash with their backpacks. You don't see them running in breath at 7.59 to school ... "I'm late". They are not seen playing football in the squares or parks. Mothers are not seen with their strollers. I was very impressed with a photo I took, of a mother with a latex mask and gloves who, walking briskly on the sidewalk, clutched his chest, trying to protect him, his few-month-old baby, also full of protection. But protect it from those who cannot see or touch it. Here is what I will have of this difficult historical moment for all of us. Who would have thought of living in first person as in an American film of those catastrophic where, ironically, instead of a post-atomic after war an invisible but very insidious and contagious enemy, has forced us and will force us to change the our lives for a long time.
For work I am always around in the city, taking photos and videos, and since this alarm began, first light almost imperceptible "so much the coronavirus is thousands of kilometers from us in China", then ever closer to to be completely involved, I saw the city slowly slowing down and shutting down. A strange and bad feeling. In other ways good because the city, is an oxymoron, is livable. Being used to cell phone ringtones, people talking and arguing about their facts walking, with or without headphones, the deafening noise of the city, horns, trucks, now nothing. Walking through the streets of the city center where everything seems suspended, motionless, firm and a strange emotion. Being immersed in an embarrassing silence, every now and then turning around because you heard a noise behind you, and you are almost afraid. But don't worry, it's just the sound of your footsteps.
When you meet people they almost seem to be suspended in the air. The face hidden behind its mask of every shape or shape even do it yourself (with frankly embarrassing results at times), if you have had the good fortune to buy it in unsuspected times, row away trying not to meet you even with your eyes no one knows never. And then the queues ordered outside supermarkets, in food stores, in front of bakeries, things never seen. No need for number anymore. Those who arrive already find people queuing far apart, who do not speak, do not socialize, they control each other to avoid being close. A quick glance is enough to understand who is the last one in the row, and you queue up and wait neatly, immersed in your mobile phone to check the latest news. The few cars in circulation make a new noise, never heard.
Before, we were immersed in the deafening noise of hundreds of vehicles, and we didn't pay attention. Now annoyance, silence breaks. Peesino the ambulances that were very frequent before seem to have disappeared, even if they provide their service equally. Ironically, there seem to be fewer sick people. On the one hand, it is also true given that road accidents are practically eliminated. Spring days where the air is crisp, for real, a hot sun warms the beaches that are now deserted without people, what a sadness. Without being able to take an ice cream, take a walk with loved ones, without interactions between people. Being able to finally hear the lapping of the sea hundreds of meters from the shore, but not being able to get there, not being able to enjoy all this peace, since we are in "war" with a sneaky and invisible enemy.
The only ones to enjoy it are the dogs and their owners who have so far been allowed to go out for a few minutes. Now few even runners or those who do outdoor sports, I counted 5 at most, in recent weeks there were hundreds. The playgrounds for children desolately empty, the swings stopped, motionless only moved by the wind. The only ones who resist around are the elderly, those who should be more careful. Those who need to do the shopping, or to go to the pharmacy, maybe many are alone and have no support to rely on. The municipality offers help and delivery of groceries at home, but who knows? Who do you trust? Some evidently to take a walk and sit as usual on a bench, perhaps with a half-empty shopping bag to avoid being stopped for checks. But even the air we breathe was affected, for the better. Reduced the air pollution smells are heard, birds can be heard in their chirping in search of the companion. You can finally breathe deeply, ironically for a Coronavirus that hits and destroys those.