Italians on lockdown are turning to song to connect with each other as the country, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe, remains on lockdown.Videos circulating on social media show deserted streets as residents sing out their windows or off their balconies.Some songs are hopeful. Some defiant. Some operatic, even chilling.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte put the entire country on lockdown Monday to combat coronavirus, banning all but the most important travel. Up to 16 million people in northern Italy now need permission to travel under quarantine rules, and the Italian economy is under siege as well, with businesses shut down and entire industries on hold.

Italy is the most hard-hit country in the world after China. More than 1,000 have died so far.

One of the most widely shared videos is said to show the abandoned streets of Siena, located in central Italy’s Tuscan region.

A seemingly solitary voice begins singing “Canto della Verbena” — “And While Siena Sleeps.”

Other voices soon join in as the song crescendos. A dog barks along.

https://twitter.com/valemercurii/status/1238234518508777473

https://twitter.com/RussoBCF/status/1238539348544454658

https://twitter.com/MrRJHolland/status/1238476593011490816

https://twitter.com/spank75/status/1238229026805895168

Photo: Luka Bruno

Original article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/03/13/italians-sing-into-abandoned-streets-videos-coronavirus-lockdown/5047590002/