Italy was the first European country to feel the full force of Covid-19. Stark images of army trucks carrying bodies, ICU wards beyond capacity and the deserted streets of Milan and Rome, were a ringing alarm bell to Europe, of what was to come.

 

In this episode from August 2021, Antonello Guerrera, a journalist for the Italian newspaper la Repubblica, talks about how those scenes are embedded in the minds of Italians, forming a solidarity and caution that could mean they are more likely than others to embrace vaccinations and vaccine passports, and reflects on whether recent sporting triumphs represent a redemption for the country, after the despair of 2020.

 

Sources: Sky Sports, Andrea Bocelli, CGTN, NBC News, France 24