Roman Quarantine – Day 32

Roman Quarantine – Day 32

Coronavirus

Tweet This evening, as I was making risotto with broad beans, the Prime Minister officially announced that in Italy the lockdown will continue until 3 May (he seems always to make announcements when one might be cooking). Another three and a bit weeks, strategically...
Roman Quarantine – Day 31

Roman Quarantine – Day 31

Coronavirus

Tweet Today marks a month of the Roman Quarantine, and there is still no definite end date in sight. Giuseppe Conte, the Italian Prime Minister, mentioned the possibility of loosening some restrictions at the end of the month in an interview with the BBC today, though...
Roman Quarantine – Day 30

Roman Quarantine – Day 30

Coronavirus

Tweet My Instagram account shows that today I had lunch, and then I had dinner. And that was about it. On either side of these events I mostly sat on the terrace and read the letter written to Leo X and attributed to Raphael and Baldassare Castiglione (for an English...
Roman Quarantine – Day 29

Roman Quarantine – Day 29

Coronavirus

Tweet In January, on a whim, I went on a midweek jaunt. I wanted to catch an exhibition about Raphael’s circle in his home town, Urbino, before it closed and that seemed a good excuse for a road trip during the quietest period for tourism in Rome (insert hollow laugh...
Roman Quarantine – Day 28

Roman Quarantine – Day 28

Coronavirus, High Renaissance, popes, Rome

Tweet Today is the twenty-eighth day of the Roman quarantine. Exactly four weeks have passed since the extraordinary announcement of the shutdown. When I started writing these posts we here in Italy were in an anomalous situation. Now most of you are in a very similar...