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Could be renamed the christmas paradox. The government has brought almost all of Italy into the yellow zone, effectively easing restrictions, keeping stores open to restore oxygen to merchants, and establishing the refund of money excluding online shopping to suit merchants. Then the weekend comes and people, if they can, go shopping to buy the latest Christmas gifts, or maybe for a walk after a long time inside the red or orange zone. The streets fill up, gatherings are formed and reproach is fired. The appeal is always the same: “Avoid meetings, otherwise the third wave will be inevitable.Germany, to avoid a new increase in infections and deaths, has imposed the rules with Chancellor Merkel, who announced a tough blockade until January 10. Stores closed, soft drinks up to 90% of turnover and Christmas postponed for next year.
Meanwhile, the situation in our big cities is worrying. With the contagion curve appearing to have flattened (the decline has slowed), the images from Rome, Milan, Naples, Bergamo and Bologna worry and not a little in sight for the next few weeks.
ROME, TRAFFIC AND CROWD IN THE CENTER
Full house today in the center of Rome, also thanks to the sunny day. Traffic in the central streets and busy shopping streets, looking for Christmas gifts. Yesterday too many people on the street, especially in the afternoon when it was necessary to implement some closures in via del Corso at the crossroads with via del Parliament, via della Vittoria and piazza del Popolo at intervals of approximately 15 minutes, as well as the closure of bus stops metro “Flaminio” and “Spagna” for about 2 hours. In the controls ordered by the Quaestor to verify compliance with social distancing and the use of personal protective equipment, as part of the anti-covid measures, yesterday 665 people were identified and 121 commercial businesses were verified. especially aimed at shopping streets such as the Trident area, via del Corso, piazza di Spagna and the area of via Cola di Rienzo via Ottaviano and via Candia, as well as the areas of the Roman coast. Today the traditional Porta Portese market has also reopened, the mega shops and open-air markets have actually reopened at the weekend. The traffic police guarded the market with more than 50 officers, in particular to avoid the formation of crowds and protect the health of customers, with controls both outside and inside the market. Access is monitored in a fixed mode with the use of patrols, as well as a work group of more than 20 agents dedicated to administrative controls and controls. Encounters also at the Trevi Fountain. For this reason, the local police officers of the Trevi group have temporarily isolated the area to restore security conditions. The crowd, in fact, no longer allowed to maintain a safe distance. With the evacuation of people, a gradual reopening and a quota system in the form of “stop and go” will be carried out, a procedure also implemented in other localities of the “trident”, in order to avoid the formation of agglomerations
MILAN, APPETIZER TAIL IN THE CENTER
In Milan, as in all Lombardy, with the entry into the yellow zone, from today we return to have lunch in the restaurant and have an aperitif or coffee at the bar, but until 6 in the afternoon. One sunny day after so many days of rain, he was literally assaulted by people: there are those who walk, those who buy Christmas gifts and those who return to perform the aperitif ritual. In Camparino, a historic place at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, there is a queue of people ready to enter to have a cocktail at the counter or to sit at the table in the outdoor area. Among them is Paolo in the company of a friend: “We really missed the aperitif at the bar and this morning we went out to indulge ourselves.” The Galleria, the Milan show, seems to have returned as always, with many people walking and some queues in front of the luxury brand stores. However, the bars and restaurants are not all open, only Cracco, Pasticceria Marchesi and the historic Savini have reopened, while other places have decided to stay with the closure closed. Almost all of the Savini tables are occupied by people having an aperitif or having lunch. In the center, a stone’s throw from the Duomo, is the famous Neapolitan pizzeria da Sorbillo, at 12 the first customers are already there. “For today we have enough reservations,” explained Massimiliano Paradisi, director of the restaurant, “I see that people want to go out and live again.” Among the restaurateurs there is a desire for recovery: “there are many people around and little by little even the tables are filling up – explained Gianni from the Le Tre Gazzelle Bar-Restaurant in Corso Vittorio Emanuele -. This morning there was also a nice back and forth with coffee. We are happy if they do not bring us closer, otherwise if they bring us closer we are ruined.
Not only around the Duomo, but also in other districts of Milan on the first sunny day after a lot of rain and the passage in the yellow zone attracted a lot of people to go shopping, like in Corso Buenos Aires with the machines lined up, or to drink a coffee. at the tables in Brera, the city’s artists’ quarter. In Jamaica’s historic bar, once a meeting place for painters and writers, there is an expectation of understanding how things will go. “We have never closed and we have taken off. At the moment I would say that the reopening here is very slow, but it is still too early to make an estimate. We continue day after day, things always change, ”explains Carlina from behind the counter. In Corso Garibaldi there are many activities, bars and restaurants, which today have lifted the shutter, with many people who have chosen to eat a bite in the open air, in the wine bars and nightclubs that abound in the street a few steps from the center. Even the Osteria del Corso, where Antonio, the manager, finds that the first day is “discreet because there are a lot of people around, the reservations go quite well and we have confidence. People missed the restaurant and even the bar, come in and have a coffee, an aperitif, we have a loyal clientele. As of today, people are resentful at home and have found sociability. “
IN NAPLES CROWDS ON COMMERCIAL STREETS
In Naples, many have walked the shopping streets. Rivers of citizens took to the streets for Christmas shopping. From the center to the districts of ‘Napoli benè, from via Foria to the center via Toledo and via Chiaia to Vomero, the images are the same everywhere: families, children, elderly people on a walk. There are those who went out just to enjoy the sun and enjoy a coffee, even if it is to go, but many crowded the stores to buy Christmas gifts. Long lines were recorded, especially outside department stores and international clothing chains and sporting goods stores. But also against perfumeries, costume jewelery and household items. There are several stores that offer discounts of up to 30 percent. However, it should be noted that not all stores measure the temperature before allowing entry, just as in some stores the entry is not filtered to limit indoor gatherings, thus violating anti-covid rules. “You see so many people on the street and for commerce it is finally a breath of fresh air – underlines Carla della Corte, president of Confcommercio Napoli – yesterday there were many people, today a little less but we are working and we hope to continue getting better. the following days”.
BERGAMO HIGH ATTACK
The first day of the yellow zone Bergamo and in particular the Upper City was stormed. Also thanks to the beautiful day, the bars and cafes were full, the restaurants were sold out and many people in the Walls and in the Corsarola, the main street of the historic town. Even the center of lower Bergamo has registered a full house for Christmas shopping: busy sidewalks and long lines of cars throughout the center, with parking spaces sold out in the afternoon.
CROWD IN THE CENTER OF BOLOGNA
The center of Bologna filled up on the penultimate Sunday before Christmas, with ‘rivers’ of people who since late in the morning poured into the streets of the ‘T’ pedestrian zone to shop and walk, taking advantage of the sunny day and the restaurants open for lunch. In addition to the shopping streets in the shops, the Piazza Santo Stefano is also very popular, where the traditional antique market is installed. Even yesterday, despite the rainy weather, the historic center was filled with people. “Many people but also many masks,” said the mayor of Bologna Virginio Merola yesterday afternoon on the sidelines of the inauguration of the nativity scene in the Municipality, specifying that in a week it will be produced if necessary “to further toughen the situation.”
Last Updated: Sunday, December 13, 2020, 7:57 PM
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