Florence isn't broken; she's healing. That's the thought that struck me on seeing Francesco Spighi's extraordinary photos of our beloved city taken for journalistic purposes and using the utmost precautions.
That healing process is going to take time and it's going to get worse before it gets better, but in many ways Florence has earned a break, the pietra serena stones and epochal monuments frequented by billions down the centuries. There's a haunting beauty in this brutal eclipse, an interval for personal reflection and a return to simplicity. This morning, after winning the rubbish bin run (conversations like this must be taking place in households up and down the country as folks try not to squabble over who gets to walk the dog, take out the trash, go and buy the essentials), I filled in the self-certificate form and set foot outside for the first time in two days. The two people I saw looked up, made eye contact and nodded: yes, we are all in this together and, yes, we draw strength from that.
That feeling of solidarity will sound out loud this evening (and through events during the weekend). Everywhere in Italy, at 6pm, we will take to our terraces, balconies and windows to sing and make sound, as a unified chorus of togetherness. If you're not in Florence, please follow our Facebook and Instagram to stand with Italy at this time of unprecedented need.
Stay strong, Helen Farrell, editor-in-chief
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HOW TO HELP
Ways to help Italy during the Covid-19 pandemic
Here's how to help Italy and Florence during this time of unprecedented need.
Coronavirus: dos and don'ts
See here for the updated Covid-19 do's and don'ts and links to the official Italian legislation. Stay at home as much as possible and always maintain interpersonal distance of a metre at all times.
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ART TO YOUR DOOR
#museichiusimuseiaperti
From today, Florence's civic museums will start using digital tools to reveal the secrets of the Palazzo Vecchio, Museo Novecento, MAD Murate Art District, Bardini Museum and Santa Maria Novella complex. The project includes workshop videos to inspire parents to try handicrafts with their children.
In Touch at Palazzo Strozzi
Palazzo Strozzi has launched In Touch, a digital platform that counters the problem of temporary museum closures by bringing its exhibits to people in their homes.
Facing fear in a time of Coronavirus by Marisa Gareffa
I breathe through it, I try to flow with the experience, because we are going through something that we have never seen before. That we are unprepared for. So it's going to be a little messy. But we will get through it, together, and help each other to make it day by day.
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