Covid 19: Killing Time In Capua

It's mid-March now. (Yes, I know, that without the  Virus you'd never have  got this!) About 7pm it is almost pitch dark. Out on the balcony cleaning out the cat litter tray (yes!) Anyway, not a job you'd want to linger over- regardless of whether you can see it clearly!

But linger on the balcony was something I felt compelled to do. Behind the apartment block opposite- oscured from view- but clearly audible  there was  a public announcement  van blasting out  a warning: 'Resta a Casa.'


Indeed this was a message we'd had heard often on tv and the internet. Now- out there in the dark- it took on a  distinctly ominous tone. Gone was the reassuring voice of our  PM Giuseppe Conte! Had he  been deposed in a Corona Coup? Was it really a good time to be messing with  cat litter?



Indeed it was not! Better to find out what was going on.Turning to an online National paper 'Edizione Caserta' of 13th March we are informed:
' Something has changed in these hours in Capua after the discovery of the first Coronavirus case.' (Like Hell it has! More later..) .......'The infected person is in quarantine and has declared that he has not had any contact with people from Capua.......


..Yesterday the agents checked over 50 people and reported two people to the AG for not respecting the Ministerial Directives'.......
Later on ' 'The Municipal Administration has  meanwhile announced for tomorrow a Sanitation invervention  throughout the city'.
What a relief! They're only telling us to get inside or we'll be blasted with disinfectant not dum- dums!

The Governor of Campania, Vincenzo de Luca, however, issued a more dire warning: 'Over all the region citizens are obliged to stay in their own homes..In one Chinese province a citizen disobeyed the quarantine and was shot. We do not have this therapeutic method.' When the bridge- dividing the two parts of Capua- was closed for safety checks, the enclosed photos were circulated on social media!

God preserve us all! as Samuel Pepys said in 1665 when facing the Grande Pesta  of his age. The Great Plague was one of the worst disasters in world history. Samuel Pepys' diaries provide a fascinating account into how Londoners dealt with this tradegy.

In the summer of 1665 Londoners were dying from a terrifying disease in vast numbers. Although this disease was not unknown to them- like the Coronavirus is for us- a was much more deadly strain had taken the lives of 69,000, although the true figure  was probably closer to 100,000- 15% of the population. As of today 18/03 Coronavirus has infected 31,506 citizens and has taken the lives of 2,053.Mercifully less than its Medieval counterpart.Thank God!

In 1665 nobody understood what caused the disease or how it spread. Bad air  was blamed, as were witches, cats and dogs and  above all, people's sinful behaviour. At least in 2020 we know that a virus is the cause although myths as to its methods of transmission prevail.





Although when we compare the protective clothing worn both then and now they look surprisingly similar:





In 1665 in London the wealthy began fleeing the city as the death rate gre in the early summer. Charles 11 and his courtiers left in July for Hampton Court and then Oxford. Court cases were moved from westminster to Oxford. Parliament was postponed and had to sit in October at Oxford. The Lord Mayor and the aldermen stayed behind to enforce the king's orders to try to prevent the disease spreading. Those who already had plague were locked in their houses and guarded by watchmen.

Parish officials provided food. Searchers looked for dead bodies and took them to plague pits at night for burial. All trade between London and other plague towns was stopped.The border with Scotland was closed and trade with other countries ceased. No fairs were held.
Here in Italy similar measures were imposed. In mid-February, a 38 year-old man in Codogno, a small town just outside Milan, became the first known person to be infected with the new coronavirus in Italy.

In mid-February, a 38-year-old man in Codogno, a small town just outside Milan, became the first known person to be infected with the new coronavirus in Italy. The reaction by the authorities was swift. The 50,000 population who live in Codogno and nearby towns were told to only leave their homes if absolutely necessary, and the area was sealed off from the rest of Italy. As it became clear where the Virus had spread other areas were sealed off and by  Monday March 9th President Conte announced:

'All measures of the red zones are now extended to all the national territory'.

We were in lockdown.

Although Pepys was wealthy and could have fled the capital,. he chose to stay taking his own precautions. He rewrote his will, chewed tobacco that was widely believed to give protection from the pestilence and refused to wear a periwig, believing it could contain hair 'cut off the heads of people dead of the plague'.

We are also wealthy enough to leave but have no such choice. We, the well,  are ' Locked up with the sick. Indeed  even although there still seems to be only ONE confirmed case of Coronavirus in Capua (who is probably no longer contagious I may add!) is clearly still a frightening experience for some. I was waiting outside our local cleaning shop to go in several days ago; there being a one- person- plague policy in place. Eventually a lady emerged with a large bag of cleaning products. I stood aside to let her pass, keeping the one metre of distance as per government reccommendations. Taking no chances, however, she launched herself and her hound from the top of the entrance ramp.

The passage of time has similarly done nothing to change our morbid fascination.. Pepys checked the weekly mortaity bills and even visited the plague pits in Moorfields when the plague was at its peak; whilst we check for the latest stats on the internet and view the sick daily on our tvs.
Heartless we are certainly not! Pepys mourned the death of friends, reklatives, colleagues, his brewer his baker and his physician to the plague. As yet I've not lost any loved ones to Covid but was sad to hear of the death of the Chinese doctor who did the most to alert the authorities there to the danger.

A key difference would be the impact on our daily life. My last cappuncino being a distant memory. I envy  Pepys' being able to continue to work at his navy office, celebrate his cousin's wedding and follow many of his interests: indoor and outdoor.

 On the contrary, I can not go to work, choose a car , get the medical for my Italian licence, visit my friends- even walk outside without my self-cert. What's left? Not much except the thankless tasks like cleaning, assembling Ikea furniture and listening to yet another government health warning. For the moment, at least, I'm just killing time in Capua.

Who knows what the future will bring in 2020? For Pepys 1665 turned out to be suprisingly good; bringing much opportunity and wealth.  As the plague died down he wrote in his final entry for the year:
'I have never lived so merrily (besides that I have never got so much) as I have done this plague-time!'

At the moment the words of a poor woman in London who caught Coronavirus in northern Italy  resonate. She stated: 'I think the first thing I'm going to do is just go to a park and go for a walk.'
Who knows where that Spring walk will lead? Probably to a nice bar where I'll enjoy the long-forgotten cappuncino. Time to mull over my next project. It will definitely be something outdoors.
Something I can get my teeth into soon. Guess I've already killed enough time in Capua in 2020.

Postscript

1. The Origin: The Lockdown: One Month In Wuhan (23rd January 2020........)

https://youtu.be/XU9FVqwO4TM

2. The Present Situation in Northern Italy

March 18th 2020: Bergamot, Italy: No Intensive Care Beds Left

 3526 new cases and 345 new deaths in Italy: Bergamo (Lombardy region) has run out of intensive care beds. Unions are demanding the closure of post offices after the deaths of 2 postal workers who were on their job until a few days ago

Harvest Home 1 :Before The Rain.

Early Sunday morning. The only sound that can be heard is a church bell tolling.

 Early October. It's  my favourite time of year. The mornings are fresh with a light breeze. The afternoons are pleasantly warm- British summertime.








But the summer is long over (mercifully!). This week I watched olives  being collected just outside Giano. (Jano)

Yes its harvest time. And this year the church bells are ringing for me......

The Sound Of September

1. Allegro

It's about 4pm. It's early September. I'm lying on the bed listening to an almost forgotten sound. One that I have been waiting to hear for  3 months. It's the steady drumming of rain on the windows. This signals a  change of tempo, a change of players and a change of season. It's the fanfare of autumn.



Whilst under the scorching sun it was acceptable to chill  in air -conditioned  cafes. Then we merely talked about  future plans over gelato. Now  like bustling  bees gathering up the  last  of  the summer nectar, we must make up the lost time. Suddenly the streets are full. Children return to school, walls are mended, grass is cut, couples are wed and grapes are collected.

2. Andante

It's about 7pm.It's Saturday evening. I'm walking across the English garden of the Caserta Royal Palace. All is quiet; except for a light evening breeze  rustling  the dense tree canopy. I'm heading for the former apairy for a un' estate da re  ( a king's summer ) concert by the San Carlo theatre orchestra. 

I'm heading for the north  part of the  garden that was originally  designed for burbling water, rather than bumbling bees. It is one of the most spectacular structures in the whole garden. It was created by modifying a large unused task, built by Luigi Vanvitelli, the palace's architect. The tank, sustained by solid pylons, was placed on the top of a wooded hill that was to be used in case of damage to the Carolino water system.

It was never used and in the 18th century became the aperia (apairy). How many bees were originally buzzing about we will never know. However we do know that the garden was rich in flora. Indeed the statue of Flora or Cerere was placed there in 1761. And this goddess would certainly have been in her element; amid the orchids, pines, eucalyptus, cypress, gingko, biloba, acacia, ferns, roses, camellias and waterlilies.

And we also know that Italy had a well established tradition in bee keeping, documented by Roman writers like Gaius Julius Hyginus, Varro, Columella and - most famously- Virgil.  Virgil describes the swarming of bees thus:
Hi motus animorum atque haec certamina tanta
Pulveris exigui jactu compressa quiescunt.

• Yet all this life and movement, all the strife
  May with a pinch of dust be brought to silence.

                   Georgics Book IV (29BC):

 In addition the Boubons brought with them the latest techniques in bee-keeping. Indeed it was not until the 18th century that European natural philosophers undertook the scientific study of bee colonies. It was in France that the first glassed observation hive was constructed and queens were observed for the first time laying eggs in open cells. Today certainly  the industry is thriving in Italy, with 45,513 bee keepers who produce 2 million euro worth of honey.


I sit waiting for the concert to begin. The musicians  begin to tune their beautiful instruments. I think  the bees would approve..

3. Scherzo. Allegro

Indeed we were all in for a real treat!  The stunning setting of the tree-lined classical theatre provided the perfect auditorium. Directed by Zubin Mehta, with Stefano Bollani as solo pianist the programme was as follows:

1. Verdi: The Force Of Destiny

2. Mozart: Concert for Piano and  Orchestra N. 23

3. Tchaikovsky: Symphony N. 5

 It was the opening of Verdi's Force of Destiny that stayed with me. The  garden darkened. The  audience waited. The  thundering trumpets called the storm to begin. The   growing crescendo of the strings echoed the responding rainclouds. A perfect storm was indeed conjured up. What better way to demonstrate the power of fate!

4.Allegro

It's about 8pm. It's Sunday evening. I'm helping my husband prepare for his first gig. We are in Maria Carolina's (wife of Ferdinand iv) garden near the Royal Palace for the occasion of the Beer festival.







They break the silence with their opening numbers:
The Sky is crying and Call me the breeze. 
I think of the rain. Have you guessed it yet?
The sound of September?

 1.THE SKY IS CRYING – Ray Vaughan 
 2.CALL ME THE BREEZE – Lynyrd Skynyrd 
 3.COCAINE – Clapton (MI)
 4.STILL GOT THE BLUES – Clapton
 5.THE THRILL IS GONE – BB King  
 6.THE BLUEST BLUES – Ten Years After  
 7.WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS – Jeff Haley
 8.NOBODY KNOWS – Clapton 
 9.OLD LOVE – Clapton  
10. HOLD ON I’M COMING – Clapton, BB King  
11. SITTING ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY – Redding
12. WE’RE AN AMERICAN BAND – Grand Funk 
13. HARD WAY – Johnny Winter (SI) - Riserva

5. Coda

I couldn't finish  without sharing this video with you. This was the scene that greeted us as we left the classical concert.  For me September ended as it had begun: with the sound of water. Despite two excellent concerts, it was to be that simple  sound  that  would stay with me.  For the rushing water was signalling a major change in tempo of my life - as the next ten days would prove!  After months of drought I must learn to embrace a tidal surge.    For without water nothing grows. And now I had a bumper harvest to gather in.

Travelling Shoes

I hate travelling. Anyone who knows me well can testify to this fact. Recently my husband suggested- once again- that he'd like to spend more time on the road. I seized the opportunity to expound the disadvantages of all the common modes of transport. I concluded that my favourite are: the bike, the horse and human feet.


 Perhaps in the future teleporting will become commonplace? Then I'll change my mind. I'll grab my bags and passport and shout 'Beam me up Scotty!' No more hot car journeys. No more frantic platform changes.  No more Ryanair!

Dream on! I write this sitting on 10B on a Ryanair flight from Naples to Manchester. Ahead of me lies the usual Manchester Airport bullying security staff ( lost a bottle of perfume amongst other things for ' passenger safety'). Then on again to Edinburgh. By tomorrow I'll be back in my own village. Two weeks with no travelling shoes. Bliss!

And yet this is not even my first journey this summer. And a number lie ahead. Different scenes. Different people. Different footwear.

Travel One: Tour of The Garibaldi Warship, Taranto

And for my first journey this summer it is not so much the case of finding the right shoes, but finding my sea legs! After three hour car journey to almost the heel of the boot - ( yes - and under the summer sun!) - we reached Taranto. Taranto lies on the coast of Italy between the Mar Grande (Big Sea) and the Mar Piccolo (little Sea). Bridges link the mainland to the old town, on a small island.  They open twice a day: 12 midnight and 5 am to allow large ships to pass out to sea.

It is such a large ship that we have come to see: The warship Garibaldi, Italy's first aircraft carrier. This is the fourth Italian navy ship to be named after the famous Italian general: Giuseppe Garibaldi.

 Proudly I can boast that I have a personal connection to this vessel as it was the ship my husband contributed to built, as a Navy Officer, in Monfalcone's shipyard.

To get all the apparatus working, Garibaldi, which is an aircraft carrier, has got 4 power stations and 6 generators, further than 4 turbines each giving a power of 25,000 HP to propel the ship to a max speed of 30 knots.Operations room, the hangar and the living spaces are spread over 12 bridges and the aircraft get to the flight bridge thanks to two special big elevators.


Impressive or what?! I spend a long time on the flight deck with the captain learning about the amazingly short distances that the planes need  for take-off on the ship's runway. I opt for easier task of steering instead!

Travel Two: Caserta Wedding at the Mulino Reali

For my second travel this summer I certainly needed very different travelling shoes! Unfortunately these were shoes that were not made for any method of travel at all- and certainly not for any of my favourite modes.

 After my long-suffering husband managed to bring the car closer, I managed to at least arrive with buggers on! However with a steady 35 degrees all afternoon,  the evening found me shoeless and in the water once again!

And what a relief that was, I can tell you! All thanks to the clever engineering of those famous Bourbons who had the architect Vanvitelli (see earler posts 'Fit For a King' and 'Sing a Song of Sixpence').

  He constructed a huge aqueduct to supply their palace, the Reggia di Caserta and the San Leucio complex with water coming from the foot of the Taburno,  38 km away!
 I can reassure you that it  is still very fresh when it arrives  from the springs of Fizzo.Translucent and fizzing, in fact, that I was sorely tempted to shed more than my posh peek-toe shoes!!!

Travel Three: Seaside Holiday: Montesilvano

After my third journey this summer, I can finally kick my shoes off altogether to enjoy long walks on the soft sands of Montesilvano.

And who wouldn't! Aurora's flaming fingers beckon you to the balcony. Coffee in hand you are soon watching the fishing boats come in as she dispels the darkness in a blaze of burning rose and amber.
 She continues to beckon until you are down on the beach itself. Sandals are soon off and you are enjoying the feel of the soft warm sand on your feet. Brexit blasts may be disturbing British shores but here its only the quiet purr of sand- seiving machines. Yes here its just Cinque Stelle and clean sand. Who would want to contemplate further travel at all??????

Travel Four: Village Sale in Killin, Perthshire

I must however contemplate one final journey this summer. Back on with the travelling shoes- and soon these will be replaced with sturdy wellies. Yes, you've guessed it: I'm back in Scotland again! And by early September we are already in autumn.
Adorning our favourite woolies like lucky talismen, we are soon back in our stride. Staring into the flames of our chimneas and stovies, we bemoan summers ruined by unreliable weather and unreliable pilots. Seriously , of course, we're welcoming the change of season. And what isn't there to love about fresh crisp mornings and long romantic walks through Van Gogh portraits!

What better place to experience the autumn canvas than the Scottish Highlands with all its glens and forests ablaze with colour!

 It's Open Perthshire Studios week and I'm here to help my family sell honey, produce and paintings. (See Instagram: highland _graphite)


We're drinking Italian Kimbo coffee and munching scones and raspberry jam. I'm trying to forget about the forthcoming two flights I need to face.

But face them I must!The travelling shoes are on my feet once more and I'm trying to cram a large pile of purchases into one small trolley and handbag.






Can I do it? Have I got a magic wand? Have the travelling shoes sprung wings?


No of course not! I have to cough up the £50 excess if I'm not to surrender my bargains. Once again I'm reminded of the myriad of reasons why I hate travelling! I resolve to become more environental friendly and cut my air miles.
I close my eyes and dream of the day when I can travel in a virtual glass of fizz. Hands Free, my baggage will already be there when I reach my destination. The only two things I need to bring personally are: a thirst for adventure and, of course, my travelling shoes.