Silence in Italy

The beauty of Italy is in the order which may appear to be old fashioned outdated uneccessary frustrating when shops shut at 1pm and lipstick and hair combed are de rigeur at any hour a foot is set outside the door not like Dee in London Portobello in beige nighty and wrap going round to the Paki for ciggies in the morning unremarkable not here where everything is remarked upon everything is ordered by moons just now the new moon almost a quarter one more full moon then the second will be Pasqua calculated by the number of full moons lune piene dopo natale.

Now there is silence in Italy.
Once before I remember silence the day Calabrese was murdered by the Brigate Rossi and I travelled by train from Florence to Genoa to meet my brother who was coming by ship across the Pacific through the Panama canal across the Atlantic carrying and old suitcase of our  father's tied with a leather strap full of books in English he came alone walking up the long ramp of stones from the sea wide shoulders long legs smiling at Italy in silence there was nobody on the train back to Firenze either just the two of us unaware of the proprieties .

Now the virus brings silence on the streets and the shopping centres we see photos of unreal places l'Accademia where Davide lives senza queue for the first time since I lived in Via dei Leoni right behind palazzo Veccio and walked barefoot across the smooth worn stones no longer there of Piazza Signoria where there was nobody at all in the evening there nor ever more than two or three at  Palazzo Pitti Uffizi and  noone again now you can just walk in in relief now Carnevale is over and Quaresima has begun in sobre silent quarantine. Carnevale with renewed vigor death masks doctors masks white against black robes in Piazza San Marco Venezia cancelled Carnevale and in Tuscan villages Carnevale continued children in costumes fathers in pink wigs and army uniforms tiny babies in prams dressed as squirrels and bears brazening out the order of the last Sunday of carnival before martedi santo and Ash Wednesday the olive branches burnt to make gentle ash to remember again who we are ashes to ashes death on all news chanels and on Thursday begins the blessing casting out of the houses all that is not gentle clean and bright . The whole block is polished every flat cleaned and all ladies standing ready at the doors for the priest in his long black robes and silver wand so gentle and present blesses each home each family each person every year before Easter.