Anna Tozzi Di Marco social and cultural anthropologist Rome, Italy Some considerations about my quarantine life and Italian people (and our Government) facing the Covid 19 spread. Rome, April 2020 When the Covid-19 began to spread to Italy at the end of February, I was writing my book on the results of my research project (I am an indipendent and freelance researcher) about the Seven sleepers/Ashab al-Kahf in the Mediterranean countries, and I was planning to go for some field works in Turkey, Greece and Southern Italy for the last investigations. Of course, I have had to interrupt all my research plans but I have kept writing some chapters of the book. My income job as Airbnb host also forced to be interrupted, hence I am living with my savings. Meantime my daily life has not changed a lot, as I live in a country 3 apt house in a very green suburban neighborhood in Rome. During spring time I usually spend most of my day time in the fruit and vegetable garden and taking care of flower plants. I have a lot of works to do: to cut fruit trees, to cut grass, to check all the plants, to plant new vegetables and so on. So that I don't feel discomfort living in isolation, because I always have appreciated the quietness and the silence of my garden and house. During the winter I usually have a small social life and I awake seasonally with the fine weather enjoying the sun which gives to me the energies and positive vibes. I live with my partner (translator of books and at the same time University student) while in another flat of the house my brother (school teacher) lives and in the third apartment his guest who is a Kenyan master student at private university of Business and Economics in Rome. Starting from our small heterogeneous community I has been reflecing on how the epidemic and its consequences have affected us firstly, then my neighbors and lastly the Italian society in general. So that I proceeded from a micro ethnography to general reflections on Italian society. It is a long report even if I tried to concentrate my thoughts. After the closure of schools and universities, teachers and students have gradually started virtual lessons. Hence both my partner and my Kenyan neighbor, Nick, spend their time in studying virtually. My partner, Fabrizio, born in Turin (Northern Italy), is accustumed to spend most of his time indoor during the winter, thus he is not stressed by this segregation. He schedules his day time in studying, reading a lot and cooking. Once a week he goes out for buying food. Since the first period (March 9th), because of the strict measures of isolation, Italians are allowed to go out only to buy food, to go for medical necessities, to work, although many people started smart work at home, and to have a short walk in the surroundings. In our small house community Nick is the scariest person about the epidemic. Maybe because he doesn't know Italian language, he can't have the real perception of what's going on here. As instance, he didn't know he needed a self-certification to go out I provided to him and I always inform him about the new measures of our Government to fight the virus spread. When Nick goes out (once a week), only to shopping food, he always weares mask and gloves, even covering his head. Nick never went for jogging or a walk, or other things are possible to do in this period. His parents are very scary and worried for him so that they asked to him for coming back home but he has a good resilience behavior and he hopes his university will open soon. He spend his time home in watching movies and news channels, chatting with friends and relatives and studying his lessons. By the way, recently he asked to me if there's someone infected in our street and after answering not, I tried in vain to calm his anxiety. On the contrary, we and my brother, at a different level, have a more flexible conduct, in the terms that we observe only the rules we believe useful. My brother goes by foot to shopping food at nearest supermarket (3 km far) as well as jogging every day, whereas the Government suggested to go out the less as possible. Even he often meets his girlfriend at home, despite of the slogan "#stayathome", spread inceasingly on mass media and social networks as Facebook. We have never bought masks and gloves. When I rarely go to the supermarket, the staff provides to me the gloves, because the mask is not obligatory except in some regions of Italy. We favor (as before) the small food shops in the suburb for their best quality of the food and also for the less people on queue to enter. We have been always taking care about quality of food, and our health in general, trying to practice an ecological mind and habits. Besides in the supermarket, I use gloves on the bus when I very rarely take it. I think the fundamental principle to avoid the contagion is only the social distance and indoor the hygienic precautions. The street where we live (400 mt long) has recently become a multiethnic place where at 30 years ago my arrival it was inhabited by only 5 big Italian families. Nowadays my neighbors, about fifteen families, have different conducts since the epidemic spread: my nearest one is an Italian family with a daughter, which are locked at home, they never go out, shopping on line and using the delivery, they open the door only on delivery dates and never exchange a word with others; next to them a single retired man with whom I usually chat outside our homes, lives lonely and he had to suspend the Buddhist gatherings, even I no longer hear acting his daily sacred "om" in the morning; the Italian oldest 2 neighbors, 87 years aged related women, never go out, neither on their balcony, because of their fright of contagion, thus their relatives come to visit them in order to bring food and to make cleaning, since their Ukraine housekeeper left the job; my dearest neighbor, also an Italian very old lady (84 years) I often and usuallly help, is not scared, nothing has changed in her life, so she still goes bycling to shopping daily and she very often comes to ring to my door to have a talk, just keeping social distance; the Romanian neighbors, living in 2 close flats in front of my house, cannot work at the moment (only the jobs in some essential sectors are allowed), they stll keep to meet each others and have Sunday lunch together. They are also organizing a shared vegetable garden; at the beginning of the street 2 Hindu related families (a young couple with 2 children and her retired parents) live in 2 close flats, they are always at home, even earlier, the young man keeps working at the near stables, which is a safety and healthy job with horses in open space; other Italian families just respect the State decrees going out for needs and exchange short greetings in meeting others in our street that is a dead end alley. We know each others and the alley has always represented a place to socialize daily among neighbors. During the fine weather it is a going and coming of people (neighbors, their visitors, workers, postman, gardeners, Airbnb guests, etc.) you can encounter and chat. We are a very small community, helping each others, organizing common works as the cleaning of the street etc. (but also with some conflicts). Nowadays the alley is always empty with rare socializing acts. During the evening I also am afraid to get to the spectral main street to throw out the rubbish. As the dead and infected people increased Government adopted stricter measures about mobility. The virus spread in a different ways and times in the Italian regions. The first and the most affected region was (and still is) the Lombardy in the Northern Italy that is also one the most polluted areas. Every day the dead are still many hundreds after 2 month quarantine. Every day on National Tv the medical bulletin communicates to us the number of thousands infected and dead, and few healed people. Most of the dead were old people with other precedent illnesses (cancer, diabetics etc.). By their numbers were increasing more and more Italians have fell in a state of fear and complete phobia. This psycological condition was induced through the way of giving these official numbers accompanied by Tv tragic images of dead and spectral cities and through scientists' articles and speeches on Covid-19 while the Italian virologists are in contrast, everyone defending own section of power. The governamental scientific commettee gives only the number of the infected and dead in the hospitals, whereas many people are ill and die at home, because of the lackness of hospital beds and intensive care units. The public health has suffered a lot for spending review in the last 30 years meantime the private one has grown with the financial support of the State. They don't say the reason people die, the dead are just grouped in one unique category: Covid-19. People don't die anymore for other illness in Italy! News broadcasts show a long and silent queue of military tanks with anonymous coffins without funerals and relatives. The funerals are prohibited. The bereaved and the condolents cannot give the last farewell to their parents and friends. Tv stressed people die alone in very suffering conditions. On the other hand politicians of the opposition parties (right wing and far-right) are politically profiting of the increasing of the virus rapid spread. They are asking to the Government parties to leave and they are trying to foment citizens through tons of fake news by misusing citizens' fear. The role of the Pope and the Vatican in the media spreading terror has also to be considered. The Catholic Pope has always had a strong influence on Italian media and politics. During the year almost every day National Tv shows his speeches (or of the other prominent clerics) about poverty, religious matters or Italian politics, following the events. As the churches are closed by the Covid law, on Easter Friday the religious ritual has been prepared in the Vatican, caring of all details to take effect on everybody's souls and minds. The show has gone on all international and national media. The accurate scenographic setting with theatre lights and stage with the crucifix in an empty and night San Peter square was arranged. The contrite Pope Francis, alone at the centre of the desolate scene, approaching and getting on the stage with slow movements marked the symbolic meaning of the contrast with the sorrowful surroundings. This bare and dejected man with his pray for the humanity, has hit both believers and atheists. The Pope has well embodied the sentiment of the absolute solitude of human being facing the imponderable. This mainstream very powerful narrative of Covid-19, as a mix of political and religious elements, has had a strong psycological and social impact on lives of Italians. Most of the them follow the Covid law decrees literally and without reasoning, because they are terrified by the fear of getting sick and die alone. They are stucked in their fright without having the mental lucidity and the force of rebellion against the State decisions on their lives. In this tragic period they look like many automatons. Hence they have forced themselves and their childrens to the strictest reclusion at home, more than the decree orders. Nevertheless the hunt to the Chinese residents began, even if there has been no infect Chinese in Italy! Even though the Cinese community was the most responsible, they have been insulted and assaulted. Meantime the Government has reacted to the Covid-19 forcing citizens to stay at home and giving the responsability of the virus spread to their improper behaviors, also blaming those who don't respect the measures. Moreover in the most affected region Lombardy (the most productive area of the country), paying the industrialists league demands, the local government and the State didn't decided to shut down factories where people work without social distance, masks and other safe measures. At beginning even in the hospitals doctors and nurses didn't have appropriate safe stuff, so that many of them died. Also in consequence of the lack of State control over the factories the infection and the death of many workers and their relatives increased a lot. In this respect Italian anthropologists which are engaged in various activities about the social changes due to the Covid (virtual lessons, virtual public debates, workshops, interviewes etc.), have put in discussion the mainstream binary opposition outdoor danger/indoor safety among the other matters, in underlining the higher contagiousness in indoor environments of factories and homes. As for instance, some of my colleagues have started an editorial column called Viral stories (http://www.treccani.it/magazine/atlante/speciali/Storie_virali/Storie_virali.html ), including "The tyranny of the house" where according to Mary Douglas' article, Giacomo Pozzi analyzes its articulations. Further, the decision of the Lombardy government to move the infected to the public and private retirement homes for elders, blackmailing their managers to cut the financial support, besides the lackness of hygienic measures, has had the result to spread the virus in these structures with hundreds of deaths. The state of terror has been accomplished! People regard each others with suspicion and distrust. Nobody anymore says hello and have a smile in the streets. By crossing the others, individuals change the sidewalk. However the reactions of Italians are diversified over times and places. A few part of them doesn't accept the Covid law, especially the youth. I often saw groups of teenagers to play together or talk without any social distance. Some citizens cunningly transgress the rules, they go out without any necessities trying to avoid the police control and the fines. In a small town near Naples (Southern Italy) a boy, probably bored by segregation, went down to the street and started to dance with music player, calling his neighbors to join and forming a small dance group. They were badly stigmatized by newspapers and social networks. Futhermore, at beginning people tried to cope with the isolation through a sentiment of unity, of National proud encouraged by the State, going out to the balcony at certain fixed hour daily, for joining meeting to sing our National anthem. Notwithstanding this National feeling soon disappeared with the growth of the fear and a lot of acts of delation have taken the place. Half of the citizens, terrified, show fascist and racist mentality and attitudes against migrants and the transgressors of the Covid state rules. Most of the persons, frustated by staying at home all the day, started to call the police for every crowd, even small groups they saw from the window, ignoring their reasons. Therefore solo runners or people walking with dogs or with child, even adopting social distance, have been looked at as greasers and insulted under the slogan "#stayathome". They justify their bad behavior, thinking - without any rationalist mind - the trangressors may spread the virus to the others. Also the most widespread justification was the conviction that if the violators had some phisical accident in their needless activities they would occupy hospital beds useful for Covid sicks. Consequently they are potentially guilty of the Covid deaths and insofar ethically irresponsible in front of the health personnel's sacrifice. In addition where there is a local right wing government, as near Turin, some groups of dwellers started to replace the police, enquiring people in the streets. Some of these attitudes have also resulted in phisical assaults and insults. Even some policemen, until nowadays, interpret the State decrees and apply wrongly fines, abusing their police power. It is scandalous as the case of a couple with their daughter who needed a medical check after the bone marrow transplant, moving to another town by car, were stopped and fined by police. People started also to denigrate those who contrast the State decisions, or having a more rational approach to the situation without scaring. Even I suffered of this kind of blame on Facebook. I was attacked publicly through a video addressed to me by one of my Facebook contacts. It is very frequent to be attacked with insults and defamation on Facebook because of own counter-opinions of the critic minority. On the opposite side many citizens reacted to the isolation in a creative way, socializing through balconies, filming while playing music or organizing public virtual reading etc. Most are also engaged in the solidariety to the poorest, the unemployed, the elders, the homeless etc. without any ethnic/racial differentiation in spite of Fascist charity associations which help only Italian poors as declared. As example of the revival of racism in the suburb where I live in Rome I report this fact. There is an hotel converted into a Covid structure which hosts quarantine migrants who live with their positive Covid roommates and cannot stay isolated at their homes but they don't need to be hospitalized. As soon as they arrived some inhabitans, which were worried wrongly and apparently for the spread of the virus in the neighborhood, have started the denigration of these people and the managment of the hotel. They started to spread fake news on them, to take photos of them putting on Facebook and affirming the missing of the respect of rules, their uncivility and all the other stigma. Additionally they went outside the hotel to protest, they wrote on its walls racist slogans, giving the image of a buffer and not welcoming neighborhood. This group of racists have been fomented by local right wing politicians who edited a fake article on newspaper. In truth, most of them are worried that after the quarantine period these migrants remain in the hotel transforming it into a center for refugees with the consequence of the deterioration of the place and the devaluation of their houses on their opinion. On the opposite side the democratic part of the inhabitants is trying to counterfight this fake narrative as possible, respecting the Covid law, debating on Facebook and calling to the others' social awareness in order to make pressure on local authorities to stigmatize and block this racist behavior. This situation is on going whereas the Government is announcing the planning for the phase 2 in May with the gradual reopening of production and the return to the normal life because of the decrease of deaths and infected. In conclusion, if in Italy we compare the number of deaths for pneumonia during the precedent years are almost the same of 2020, the only difference is its high concentration in the Northern part of the country. Some scientists pointed out the high rate of the pollution of this industrial area with the virus spread. I think the repeated slogan "all will goes well" within a rainbow as a mantra is only an utopia. People are worsening more and more in a selfish and individualist way of thinking and living. I have also many other considerations at a double level, global/local, that is related to the globalized situation, as for instance, the environmental question and economic neo colonialism, and to the local scene as religious matters during the emergency about both the death rituals and burial spaces within Islamic community and collective cultic actions of the different faiths as the common prayer. These subjects need more specific reports. At the end, in Italy everything will unfortunately go back as usual after quarantine period, indeed "the normality is the problem"!