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The catastrophe has caused huge damage to their economy as more than two million businesses are reported to have been affected, leaving one out of two workers without income.
Italy has been among the hardest hit countries by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic where over 195,000 people have been infected, and more tragically, as many as 26,384 persons have perished.
But Italy, being a great country, is preparing to come out to regain its glories. The Italians are engaged in putting a new twist on an old custom to help the needy and restart the economy.
Piazza San Giovanni della Malva in Rome was known to echo with the noise of crowded cafes and restaurants. But the only business open now is a grocery shop, Er Cimotto, which is so small in size that social distancing forces customers to order through the window.
Now-a-days the shoppers ask some money to be added to their bill for what's called la spesa sospesa ‘suspended shopping.’ The concept derives from the century-old Neapolitan tradition of ‘suspended coffee when a customer in a cafe pays in advance for someone who can't afford it.
Shop owner Michela Buccilli remarked that suspended coffee has been replaced with suspended grocery shopping. "The customer who has something leaves something for those who don't," she said.
The store usually doubles the amount donated and provides food that does not spoil fast, such as pasta and canned goods, to a local aid group, the Sant Egidio Community which distributes it to the needy.
Suspended shopping is an act of charity in which the donor doesn't show off and the recipient doesn't have to show gratitude. With Italy's economy in suspension, the custom is being broadened with a view to the future.
Puntarella Rossa, a website for foodies, recently launched il calice sospeso, the suspended wine glass, an initiative to help Rome's wine bars in shutdown. Since April 1, more than 150 customers have paid for wine-in-waiting at some 30 wine bars.
Manuela Mazzotta, who runs a hair salon and wedding planning business, has come up with another new initiative. With her businesses on hold, she started a Facebook page on March 20 with the hashtag #AdottaUnNegozio 'adopt a shop.'
"The customer buys a gift card now, when shops are shut down. That helps us owners pay the rent or utility bills and tide us over until the reopening. It put us in a better mood than our current sense of desperation,” she was quoted as saying.
Paying for something now and getting it after lockdown is one way to help shopkeepers from going bankrupt and at the end of the virus tunnel, return to business as usual, hopefully soon.
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