So I discovered you can watch old movies on Youtube, it's changed my quarantine! Last night I watched The Enchanted April set in Italy in the 20's and today Tea With Mussolini set during the last war in Florence and all the memories of life with my late husband and the daughter travelling to incredible places within this country swept me away on a tide of gratitude and a seismic jolt about what is happening to it now. Last year I was wandering the streets and galleries of Florence, in the warmth of a late spring, surrounded by patient Italians and astonished tourists. When I was there I was reading a novel about a plague in Florence and Siena in 1346 where 60% of their citizens died of the Black Plague. This was written by Agnolo di Tura in 1349:
The city of Siena seemed almost uninhabited for almost no one was found in the city. And then, when the pestilence abated [lessened], all who survived gave themselves over to pleasures: monks, priests, nuns, and lay men and women all enjoyed themselves, and none worried about spending and gambling. And everyone thought himself rich because he had escaped and regained the world, and no one knew how to allow himself to do nothing .... 1349. After the great pestilence of the past year each person lived according to his own caprice [impulse], and everyone tended to seek pleasure in eating and drinking, hunting, catching birds, and gaming. from William Bowsky,ed.
The article was named The Black Death - The turning point in history.That was more than 600 years ago. Was it the turning point? Will it be ours? Make us more aware of our mortality, make us appreciate life, friends, family, toilet paper? Will we stop taking our lives for granted? The Italians, as with all ancient cultures, have been through this via their DNA many times before and they'll pick themselves up and start having Spritz's again, having their passeggiata in the early evening accompanied by kids, wine and gelato, living life and loving it more than most. Have you wondered how we will emerge at the end of this quarantine period? Here in France where we went very quickly into total lockdown and have been for 19 days, will we venture out with trepidation and fear when they give us the go ahead? Will we be confident that it is safe enough? For how long will we wash our hands carefully? Will we become more decadent? Will we go crazy and buy a lot of things we've survived without? Will we ever trust in the cleanliness of public transport or will we always carry our hand sanitiser at all times? I can't imagine how we will emerge back into normal living. It'll be interesting to see. I'd love to be there when Italy's cafes and restaurants open, I'd love to be there when people can open their doors and embrace and double kiss in the streets without crossing the road in fear.
Meanwhile I'm starting to cover the empty wall of my room with paintings. Some of which I'm happy with, some I'm not but they're colourful and cover the whiteness of my life at the moment. And P.S, I didn't go out today, not once. That's a first. Had a bit of a shutdown.
This article took itself seriously tonight. Sorry, not sorry.
I do think about how we'll come out of this... And I'm worried about emerging straight back into the climate crisis and another dangerous bushfire season. I hope it is a turning point and that we're able to restructure a bit better than we were, to be more caring and more sustainable