Pandemic: A snapshot of life in Rome
Rome, a city where tourism is a major source of revenue, has been especially hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Even as Italy has begun re-opening businesses, the European Union's Summer 2020 ban of travelers from America (where COVID-19 is raging) continues to impact the economy.
Lockdown
In 2019, more than 5.5 million Americans visited Italy, spending nearly $3 billion. But one travel industry group predicts this year may be the worst for tourism in decades.
Self-Portrait
Annie Ojile, a Minnesota native, has always relied on American tourists to book Vespa rides through the Eternal City with her company, Scooteroma. Since COVID, she told "Sunday Morning" correspondent Seth Doane, "Everything has changed. We lost 100% of our bookings – all of them."
She began taking photographs of a Rome remarkably empty of tourists.
Red Alert
Lipstick on mannequins in a shuttered store.
Empty Streets
Lockdown
Nothing has yet replaced this poster for a December 2019 climate change conference.
Self-Isolating
Piazza
Bernini's Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi at Piazza Navona.
Signs of the Times
Lockdown
Gloves
Pantheon
The Pantheon in Rome typically welcomes seven million visitors a year. 2020 is not a typical year.
Empty Streets
Social Distancing
A line of Romans.
Keep Your Distance
Marks on cobblestones indicate social-distancing parameters for a pharmacy's customers.
Hand Sanitizer
Social Distancing
It's not quite the "Creation of Adam" from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, but close.
Face Mask
Merchant
An essential business operating in a pandemic.