ANDRA’ TUTTO BENE Becomes Italy’s Inspiring Slogan
Children’s artwork, like this one, has spread Italy’s message of hope.
The phrase Andrà tutto bene (everything will be all right) has become the rallying cry in Italy. Pictures bearing the slogan have been all over Italian social media as people seek to reassure each other and brighten up days spent at home under quarantine. Now the catchy phrase has gone viral, alongside the hashtag #iorestoacasa (“I’m staying at home.”) As Italians adjust to a very different life under emergency lockdown measures, the world has seen the feeling of calm and solidarity between people around that country which is best summed up by this Italian phrase. Many videos were posted of Italians singing from their balconies and also applauding the medical professionals at a certain time of day — ideas which were adopted in Spain and other European countries and now in New York City
Italian parents began sharing images on social media of artwork created by their children — all out of school at the moment — bearing the hopeful message. There have been plenty of depressing news stories in the Italian press about the coronavirus pandemic — how many people have been infected, how many people have died. But amid all the bad news, there have been some bright spots, too. The call for 300 retired doctors to help their beleaguered colleagues was answered by several times that number. In Naples, residents are lowering “solidarity baskets” of food from their balconies down to the street for those who don’t have enough food, and setting up folding tables with everything from groceries to hot dishes.
Carabinieri are offering to collect pension payments for the elderly from post offices and deliver the cash to their home so they don’t have to go out. Many museums and art galleries have put their collections online so that they could be enjoyed during the lockdown. Doctors and nurses are using sleek new robots in hospitals, helping to reduce the risks of direct contact with infected patients. “Tommy” the robot nurse and his six “teammates” are now helping doctors at a hospital in Varese. Engineers in Italy have transformed scuba diving masks into ventilators as a 3D printer business helps hospitals by converting a snorkeling mask into a mask for oxygen therapy. Car makers Ferrari and Fiat Chrysler are in talks with Italy’s biggest ventilator manufacturer, Siare Engineering, to speed up production of the life-saving equipment.
Other Italian companies have been pitching in, too. Italian eyewear Luxottica announced that although it is laying off 12,000 workers, they will get 100% of their pay while managers will take a 50% voluntary pay cut. The Italian tire maker Pirelli said that factory workers among its 3,000 employees will remain on the company’s payroll during the lockdown. And top fashion designers such as Armani and Prada have begun making masks and protective coverings. These are but a few examples of Italian ingenuity and patriotic spirit at work. On March 11, a video was broadcast to the world of a prayer offered by Pope Francis to mark a day of prayer and fasting for the coronavirus emergency. Italian President Sergio Mattarella, on World Health Day April 7, thanked the doctors, nurses and others “who in these moments of coronavirus emergency find themselves on the front line. Work done to the limits of their energy for a service that some of them have paid for with their lives.”
And famous tenor Andrea Bocelli gave an Easter concert of sacred songs to an empty Duomo in Milan, a concert that was seen by millions worldwide. He said “a lockdown can be a chance to do things that often we would like to do — read, listen to music, try to keep the body and mind very active and, last but not least, do not be afraid of a virus that will pass.” Meanwhile, as the lockdown is extended in Italy, as many find themselves in dire circumstances and as “normalcy” seems far off, let’s hope the spirit of Andrà tutto bene continues and finds a place here in the United States. ❚