My Experience with Italy's Handling of COVID

From late September to early October, 2021, I spent two weeks in Italy. I traveled in three of Italy's twenty regions, with a day-trip into a fourth. I witnessed a country grappling with the long-term effects of a global pandemic that has wreaked havoc on its people and its economy.

I was there in Italy as a tourist. Not a journalist. Not a medical researcher. Just a person trying to see more of a country that fascinates me.

To be transparent about my stance, I am a pro-mask person who believes that the Covid vaccine is an incredible gift to be received with gratitude. I think Covid is a serious disease, but I also accept that medical experts have learned how to mitigate its risks and protect most people from serious harm. With smart approaches, I think Covid will soon become like the seasonal flu: serious for a few yet manageable for most, especially thanks to ongoing vaccinations.

This was my sixth time to visit Italy. Aside from the Czech Republic where I lived for nearly eight years, I have now spent more time in Italy than any other nation outside the US. This doesn't make me an expert, especially since I don't speak Italian. But as someone who's been trained to observe and ask questions, it does allow me to compare the Italy I saw this trip with the Italy I've experienced in previous trips dating back to 2000. And it allows me to compare what I see in my own country with how Italy appears to be handling Covid.

By now, the Covid-19 pandemic is nothing new. Its impact has reached every corner of the globe. At the start of the pandemic, however, few places experienced Covid's dark potential like Italy. Cities like Milan and Bergamo bore the consequences for our initial ignorance about this disease.

Eighteen months on from those initial days of horror, I visited Italy. I planned the trip back in April when we were all optimistic that Covid was ebbing and that brighter times were just around the corner. I did not envision the Delta variant and the ensuing third (or fourth) wave of Covid and renewed restrictions.

By the time we traveled, things were improving once again, but I was uneasy. International travel at this season seems tenuous at best, and I wasn't sure if I should even go. I kept waiting for some new restriction that would close the door on the trip. Yet when the time came to travel, all obstacles had cleared. The green light said go. With quite a bit of trepidation, I boarded my American Airlines flight for Rome. 

What did I witness about Italy's handling of Covid? What did I like or dislike? How safe or free did I feel during my two-week trip? Here are my observations.

1. Italy expects you to be vaccinated. To travel to Italy, we had to demonstrate proof of vaccination. I was actually grateful to know that basically everyone flying with us to Rome was vaccinated and had tested negative for Covid. The need for proof of vaccination didn't just end with entrance into the country. We often had to show our vaccine cards to enter museums and restaurants. The Italians are no-nonsense about requiring vaccination for many indoor activities.

I've read that Italy has a decent number of vaccine skeptics, but you'd never know it from a visit like mine. A higher percentage of Italians are vaccinated than in America, and I witnessed this first-hard. Italians willingly flashed their green passes (vaccine cards) with regularity for indoor activities. Our CDC cards were accepted. We were free to do everything we wanted...because we were vaccinated.

2. Masks indoors are not optional. I had read this in advance but expected the reality to be somewhat looser. Instead, enforcement seemed to be universal and consistent. On our first day, I stepped into a Tabacchi store to buy a bottle of water. Forgetting to put on my mask, the shopkeeper instantly reprimanded me. On several occasions, I walked into a shop where the worker had a mask tucked under their chin but then lifted it over mouth and nose once I approached.

I also noted that Italians wear disposable masks much more commonly than I see here in the States. Cloth masks are more common here in California. In the Italian cities we visited, however, most folks were wearing simple, pleated masks with elastic bands. I've recently read advice that cloth masks provide less protection than these simple surgical masks. If that's true, the Italians are ahead of the game.

You'd see people walking down the street with their masks on their arm. They were so ubiquitous. Again, I've read that there are anti-maskers in Italy, but you couldn't see it in any of the places we visited. 

3. Testing is accessible and cheap. In cities like Rome, Bologna and Bergamo, many pharmacies had tents out front for Covid testing (and vaccination). The US requires travelers to have a negative Covid test before returning back to the States. We briefly fretted about how easy it would be to find a testing site prior to our return (tests must be within 72 hours of departure).

Since our final stay was in Bergamo, we asked our hotel for assistance in finding a testing site. They scheduled us with a pharmacy just 3 blocks away. Within an hour, our group had papers with negative PCR tests. And the test only cost 20€, or just a little more than $20. Fast, accessible testing that is affordable. I like that policy!

4. They take Covid seriously, but they are moving on with life. Italy has had a rough go of it, and they have no doubt struggled to find the right balance. But I like the fact that Italy seems to respect the advice of scientific and medical experts while also recognizing the need to keep the economy open. While tourism is obviously slow, partly due to the offseason and partly due to Covid, it looked as if regular life was in full swing.

As one example, I fell in love with the street scenes in Modena on a Saturday or Sunday evening. People were out in force, walking the streets, sitting at tables for aperitivi, and enjoying life. With their masks strapped to their arms, they demonstrate a recognition that Covid is real while simultaneously wanting to get back to living their lives. 

According to what I witnessed in Italy, dealing responsibly with Covid is not an impossible proposition. I appreciate what I saw and experienced. I am grateful that I felt free. Not the kind of freedom that allows me to do anything I want. But the kind of freedom that protects me from the ignorant actions of others.

I'm so glad I went. Learning about history. Drinking and eating well. Being in beautiful places. And to have done that in such a fraught period of our lives makes the adventure even sweeter still.