Italians have been singing from their balconies across the country, in an effort to boost morale during its nationwide lockdown that began this week, due to Covid-19.

Videos of Italian neighbours singing together have been appearing on social media after Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte announced the restrictions that shut down virtually all daily life, and leftonly grocery stores, banks, and pharmacies open.

Posts have also emerged from Naples, of people singing pop artist Andrea Sannino’s song, Abbracciami. Residents in the port city of Salerno, in the south of the country, were recorded singing the country’s national anthem from their balconies.

Millions of children have been stuck at home because their schools and nurseries have closed, and many have started leaving hand-drawn notes in their neighbourhoods, bearing the Italian equivalent to the Cantonese phrase jiayou, translating into “don’t give up” or “hang on in there”, that has been used frequently in Wuhan since the outbreak began.

Social media posts with messages from China have also appeared, expressing solidarity with Italians. The videos show people saying “jiāyóu”, which translates to “add oil” and roughly means “keep up the fight” or “stay strong”. Residents in Wuhan, who went into lockdown at the end of January, chanted the same phrase from balconies of their apartments

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/14/italians-sing-patriotic-songs-from-their-balconies-during-coronavirus-lockdown


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