Not only Milan, not only Lombardy and Veneto. L'coronavirus effect it is also felt on Roma, which for some days seems to have lost one of its least appreciated characteristics: the chaos of overcrowding. This is not just because the arrival of tourists has significantly decreased (some bed and breakfast have already received cancellations for tens of thousands of euros), but also, or perhaps above all, because the fear of contagion has pushed many Romans to change their habits.
And so goodbye to walks in the Center for the sake of idleness, goodbye to all unnecessary gatherings of people. Metro e bus numbers they empty. Those who can take refuge within the home walls, rubbing their hands soaked in amuchine. More and more people are working from home as many companies have set up with it smartworking.
Someone guessed that the closure of schools and universities would have at least partially reversed this trend: more free time for young people means, in theory, more opportunities for social gatherings. Yet the feeling is that even among boys, or at least among most of them, the calls for caution have taken root.
Mind you, no one wants to paint Rome as a post-apocalyptic movie set. You don't see any lunar scenes, there are no deserted squares or ghost neighborhoods. Traffic it has diminished but here and there it survives, especially during peak hours: "the urban stretch of the A24 between the Tangenziale Est and Portonaccio", to name one, remains a great classic for those who listen to the Onda Verde in the morning on the radio.
In general, however, the change compared to Rome normal it is marked, evident. Anyone who knows the city even superficially knows it: if you walk in the center at the weekend – perhaps in a street with shops – you have to take into account some bumps. But these days it doesn't happen: there is space. Which, for people accustomed to chaos, is an anomaly. And it makes an impression.
