Today it is the Anniversary of the Unification of Italy, established with Law n. 4761 of 17th March 1861. As a follow-up to yesterday's post about the current situation in Italy with Coronavirus, it seems appropriate to post something uplifting, like this painting, Antonio Muzzi's Allegory of the Unification of Italy (from the collection of the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Bologna).
At the moment Italy is unified in pain, but divided as well: while Coronavirus cases are spreading, the situation remains more serious in the North and the lockdown has divided family and friends, even though there's solidarity in the national flags blowing in the wind and in the impromptu musical gigs that mainly revolve around singing the national anthem from your balcony or window.
Born in 1815 and trained in Bologna but active in Italy and in St Petersburg as well, Muzzi depicted Italy like a woman in a green dress, a bright red overskirt and shoes and a white belt and pearl necklace. She seems to have a dynamic pose as she raises one arm and walks forward, so the painting looks uplifting.
There is actually another link between what we are living in these days and 1861: the Fratellanza Artigiana d’Italia (Italian Craftsmanship Brotherhood) was founded in Florence in the same year. Inspired by democratic ideals and by Giuseppe Mazzini, the association aimed at uniting workers and at encouraging Italian craftspeople to grow "intellectually, morally and financially", through education and mutual help. Quite a few women joined the organisation at the time, and, in September 1861, the brotherhood also held a meeting to talk about wages, child labour and the workers' education. The main aims and purposes of that organisation come to mind when you think about the impact the current emergency is having (and will have) on jobs.
Some of us may be lucky enough to be able to work from home; others, such as doctors and nurses are risking their lives in the frontline, actively treating Coronavirus patients, but there are many other people out there who are working to make sure Italy doesn't come to a total paralysis and who are also in danger (two post office workers from the province of Bergamo died today, both had developed Coronavirus).
Many of us are worried about what will happen when the emergency will be over: will it be the same, will we still have jobs? Or how will our jobs change? So this post is about questions rather than answers as the situation is fluid and we don't know what will happen. But we do know that, to make sure things go back to a normal situation, we must try and respect the rules and regulations or suggestions issued by the authorities of our countries. So, let's make an effort to isolate ourselves now, to be reunited together as soon as possible.
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