In normal times I do a fair bit of commuting between two countries, the UK where I was born and Italy where, because of my parents’ mixed marriage and my own, I have residence, relatives and friends.

One question I ask myself is, finding myself constricted in the UK for the duration of the health crisis, would I have preferred to be in the same situation in Italy? The answer is a very difficult one. In practical terms, regarding the severity of the implementation of government Covid-19 regulations, I think it’s better for me here. In theoretical terms, however, how the government is acting in the crisis then I think Italy would have been the better option.

The Italian government has clearly dealt much more promptly and severely with the crisis than the UK. For example, I hear from friends in Florence and Rome that every step outside one’s house has to be justified and accompanied by a self-certification form detailing one’s personal details and the reason for making the journey. They have told me of the frequent presence of surveillance helicopters (c.f. Orwell’s ‘1984’ Thought Police helicopters flying past peoples’ windows) and the use of drones. Every day one is likely to hear warnings from police car loudhailers to ‘stare a casa’ (stay at home). Moreover, the ‘necessary’ journeys have to be made within one’s own commune or borough. A friend from Bagni di Lucca on his way to a well-known discount store was stopped and warned as the store was located in the adjacent commune of Borgo a Mozzano. He was informed that the next time he tried to do the same journey he would be fined. (Sometimes these fines can approach well over a thousand Euros). Of course, one must always wear a commune-supplied sanitary mask when exiting from one’s house. Failure to wear one will attract yet another fine.

At least one of our Italian relatives has been penalized heavily for not having the required self-certification form on them and engaging in ‘unnecessary’ journeys. i.e. journeys that are not directed to the nearest food store or pharmacy. More shop categories are now, however, beginning to open up. In particular, children’s clothing (after all children do grow!) and bookshops (absolutely necessary to avoid total boredom. BTW, how are you progressing with your reading of the complete works of Dostoevsky?).

What is particularly sad about the Italian situation is that if you are a city dweller the chances are that, like the majority of those in cities, you are living in a flat with, at the most, a balcony which might catch that Mediterranean sun at odd spots during the day. It’s only the luckier people that can afford anything like a separate house and garden. However, if you live in the country, in a small town or village then you may be much better off. In Bagni di Lucca many dwellings have an accessible garden, even a small one.  If you live in one of the villages surrounding Bagni then you are even luckier and may have your house surrounded by a garden or orto (allotment) and, in many cases, an ample stretch of orchard and meadow.

Of course, having a house surrounded by land means that time can be spent gardening and, for men if there is a shed, seek refuge from the rest of the household and engage in one’s own activities and hobbies.

(Where I’m at: the British ‘semi’ provides a life-line for many of the inhabitants of these islands). 

In the UK to-date there has not been implementation of such strict rules. Here we have no helicopters snooping on people’s activities, drones have been criticized and discouraged and there are no police cars circulating the streets with vociferous warnings hailing from megaphones. Indeed, entry into parks (for daily exercise only) has been conclusively sanctioned, not that admission to all parks was prohibited previously (see my post at https://longoio3.com/2020/04/20/a-walk-along-the-brent-river/). I’m reliably informed that Regent’s park was full of sunbathers last week-end in the spate of the lovely weather the capital continues to have. We are not restricted to shopping for food and medicines in Brent but can freely access food stores in Hillingdon, Barnet or any other London borough. Bus services are certainly reduced and the part of the bus nearest to the driver is (inconsistently, it must be said) cordoned off but there is no prohibition in using public transport for any journey. It’s certainly more free and easy in the capital. The absence of police is startling. Perhaps it’s because we are all supposed to be responsible citizens and able to impose lockdown and social distancing by ourselves without a hitch or incurring an arrest.

In terms of the effectiveness of the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic then clearly Italy is the safer place to be in; the response of the UK government to the health crisis has been somewhat delayed. The recent article in the authoritative UK newspaper ‘Sunday Times’ gives it to us straight:

“Britain was in a poor state of readiness for a pandemic. Emergency stockpiles of PPE had severely dwindled and gone out of date after becoming a low priority in the years of austerity cuts. The training to prepare key workers for a pandemic had been put on hold for two years while contingency planning was diverted to deal with a possible no-deal Brexit.’

The UK has apparently sleep-walked into disaster. I cannot disagree with this view and was aware of it at least from the time of my post at

https://longoio3.com/2020/03/23/delayed-by-curfew/

Indeed, prime minister Signor Conte, who is firmly handling the crisis in Italy, did warn the UK prime minister of what would happen to the ex ‘Regina dei mari’ (queen of the seas) if strong measures did not replace dithering ‘government advice’. Our PM, meanwhile,  was too busy shaking hands with corona virus patients at the time.

So to sum up:

Practically, I’m better off in the UK where I’m staying in semi-detached, can go to any food store I like and access public parks and public transport.

Theoretically, I’m better off in Italy where a government has handled the situation with determination and strictness and has, at last, flattened the curve, something which has yet to happen in Brexitland.