Giovanni Poggi has made a career making foreigners — particularly Americans from greater Pittsburgh — feel welcome in Rome at his pub, La Botticella, just off the 2,000 year old Piazza Navona, one of the Eternal City’s largest and most iconic piazzas. But in the past week the life in Italy has ground to a halt as the Associated Press has characterized the country as “the European epicenter of the [COVID-19] outbreak.” The Guardian reported Wednesday that “the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has risen by 31% in 24 hours” to 827 with over 12,400 cases — or a fatality rate of roughly 6.7% of cases.
Mr. Poggi’s business —
best known as a Roman Pittsburgh bar — is closed for the foreseeable future. The Piazza Navona, normally teeming with thousands of tourists, with restaurants and cafes abuzz, is empty. The country has imposed a series of strict measures including travel bans so as to stem the spread of the virus. Even Pope Francis livestreamed his normal Wednesday general audience — typically held in St. Peter’s Square and open to the public — from his private library.
“It feels like a time of war,” Mr. Poggi said in a phone call Wednesday afternoon. “We’ve never experienced anything like this in our lives. I don’t want to be dramatic, but time has stopped here. It’s like, ‘Oh my god, what is happening?’ ”
“This spreads so fast, and the problem is, it hits the weaker people and there are so many people going to the hospital and there aren’t enough intensive care units. They’re at the point where they have to decide who's going to die and who’s not — they have who they’re going to put on respirators and who they’re not. That’s the situation we’re in in Italy right now. And that’s going to happen everywhere.”
Housed in a century-old former wine merchant's shop in a narrow cobblestone alley off of the Piazza Navona, La Botticella was opened nearly 30 years ago by Mr. Poggi and because he speaks flawless English he developed a loyal clientele, first among U.S.-based flight crews stopping over in Rome and later college students studying abroad.
Mr. Poggi said groups of Penn State and Duquesne University students spending semesters in Rome — many of them from Pittsburgh — adopted La Botticella as their hangout. The advent of satellite TV made it easy to catch American sports, and homesick students wanted to see their beloved Steelers and Penguins play. A match was made, and La Botticella became a regular Sunday gathering spot to see the Black & Gold and remains so to date.
Up until as recently as a week ago, Mr. Poggi said the coronavirus threat felt like an abstraction and that he — like much of America, underestimated the seriousness of the outbreak and shared lighthearted memes. That’s changed quickly and dramatically.
“It's a weird thing because it seems so far away and then it's right up on your doorstep,” he said, likening this to being on par to a natural disaster or terrorist attack for damage it’s wrought in such a short time.
“It’s gonna kill our economy. You feel hopeless because it's an invisible enemy,” he said. Earthquakes, some devastating, are regular occurrences in Italy and Mr. Poggi said that during those events, people know how to help one another. But with COVID-19, “You feel helpless because you have to stay at home.”
Mr. Poggi lives in a village outside of the city center on a large complex with his elderly parents and sister. A man in his village that attended the same senior social club as his folks has perished. His parents have not tested positive nor are symptomatic, but given Mr. Poggi’s heavy interaction with the general public from his work, he’s moved to a different part of the complex so as to minimize contact with them.
He has essentially no work right now. Italy has said that all stores except pharmacies and food stores will be closed, but there are no tourists, anyway.
“I can lose money, but my health and my family’s health is more important.”
Right now, he said that simply getting along from day to day has its challenges.
“You’re afraid to go to shopping. You might touch stuff that’s been infected. When we bring our groceries home we disinfect everything with alcohol and water. This thing spreads so fast and you don't know how to stop it, you have to take the right precautions.
“If you go to the supermarket, they only let a few people in, and you have to stay at least a meter away from each other. But a meter’s not enough anyway.”
Mr. Poggi said he would advise his many American friends to be ready, and stock up early on food and essentials so as to prevent a chaotic panic — which happened in Italy — should restrictions eventually occur.
“Stock up just in case. You cannot be selfish. You have to be organized and you have to decide when you have to stay home. You’re gonna have thousands of people around you — you can be very careful but you don’t know if other people are being careful.
“I would say to prepare for the worst and don’t underestimate this thing,” Mr. Poggi said with a warning that, “When it hits home, it's like a punch in the face.”