“Rome is the city of echoes, the city of illusions, and the city of yearning” – Giotto
It has been over two months since Italy’s nationwide lockdown began and only now in phase two do we start to see glimmers of what the “new normal” has in store for the weary residents in Italy.
Rome has forever been a destination where ancient history, awe-struck tourists, fast-talking residents and religion fuse together in an imperfect yet addictive medley. Home to the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain and the captivating ruins of the Roman forum, these are places that are normally packed to exhaustion, now mostly empty save for the odd passer-by. People run errands clothed in masks, place orders from their local butcher, stop at the pharmacy, cycle past the Pantheon; scenes that are so perfectly captured in this slideshow of shots taken by city Annie Ojile.
This Minnesota native and now adoptive Roman is a Vespa-tour operator and Italy dream-planner, she has called the area around Piazza Navona home for a number of years and has generously sent us these photos of life under lockdown. Her street sits empty most days but people hold their heads high as they go on with daily life and wait to find out what's next.
