Italian balconies have become the new

Quarantine, coronavirus, the number of infections and political decisions around the world. These are the topics that are listened to every day on TV, with implications for the collective imagination that are not always positive. Yet an essay more or less 2000 years ago said that "there is no evil that does not have something good". This extraordinary situation is proof of this. Italy and the Italians in recent weeks have dusted off a sense of patriotism and belonging that has not been seen for years; flags flying even if it were the time of European / world championships. Balconies used as real relief valves, as if they were stages on which they could perform in chorus with their neighbors.

When it comes to the sense of belonging, we cannot avoid talking about football and its fans. And it is they who are making flash mobs from balconies a truly overwhelming phenomenon. Next to the performances of great artists as in the case of Giuliano Sangiorgi, next to the applause that is organized daily to make the support heard at a distance to doctors and all the health staff, also to those who support their city by singing "Oh mia bela Madunina" , "Napul'è" and "Roma capoccia"  there are the balconies that turn into real curves. From north to south a feeling of cohesion and hope, but underneath also of nostalgia for Sundays at the stadium. There are really many cities that have joined the stadium flash mods, with choirs in tune both following the tradition of the fans and adapting them in relation to the coronavirus. Messages of strength, messages of hope, as mentioned, those that make the balconies of Italy sing and jump.

Naturally the Italian national anthem excels, which stands out from the stadium choirs but remains one of those that makes the singers shiver. And it is true that "Italy has awakened", as represented by the many videos that have gone viral and that are going around the world. A people of artists, innovators, our musicians, but also and above all of people who are inextricably linked to the world of football.

NAPLES

A hot city like Naples cannot and probably cannot remain silent, forced within the walls of houses like the rest of Italy. And it is precisely from Naples that perhaps the most incredible choruses are born, as on the occasion of the hymn written and sung by Nino D'Angelo "I ragazzi della curva B" and replicated by the true Neapolitans a few nights ago. The most representative song of the Napoli fans is offset by the flash mob announced and directed by Lorenzo Insigne  who unleashes himself on Instagram and from his balcony intones "Un giorno all'improvviso", perhaps the unofficial anthem of the azzurri.

ROME

From the capital, however, several demonstrations of love arrive. Roma fans can only sing Antonello Venditti with "Grazie Roma", the historic hymn of the Giallorossi, creating a suggestive and unique atmosphere. It wasn't all right, however, when we started to hear from the balconies "Dimmi cos'è, che ci fa sentire amici anche se non ci conosciamo..."  A Lazio fan, in fact, asked in a rather threatening way to lower the volume of the anthem of the hated cousins. The video is halfway between the paradoxical and the funny!

The response from the white balconies was not long in coming. No video portrays the Lazio fans singing the hymn "Vola Lazio Vola" but in different districts of the Eternal City the words of the song "I Giardini di Marzo" echo, always a chorus that accompanies the North Curve of the Olympic Stadium in Rome. "Cieli immensi e immenso amore" is sung at the top of your lungs every time Lazio win a home match and on the occasion of important events related to the club.

MODENA

Passion knows no category, not even during these quarantine days. Even in Modena there is a lack of the Braglia curve, where the long-awaited derby between Modena and Reggiana was to be played on Sunday. The Gialloblù fans, however, wanted to "play" the most important game of the year all the same and they did it right from the balconies of the historic center of the Emilian city. How did they do it? Simple, singing the chorus of the most representative choir of the Montagnani curve: “Per un pir, un pam un persec, per ‘na brogna e na rumleina, nuetr’a sam d’la Ghirlandeina, nuetr’a sam da rispeter" or be it "for a pear, an apple, a peach, for a plum and a seed, we are from Ghirlandina, we are to be respected".

SIENA

Even the historic Tuscan city joins the phenomenon of flash mobs, although the sporting situation is very different from 10 years ago, with football in the top flight and with basketball that challenged the European battleships. From the balconies and windows of Siena you hear the hymn of Siena, the "Canto della Verbena", a solemn ritual repeated before each sporting event.

LA GENTE COME NOI NON MOLLA MAI / PEOPLE LIKE US NEVER GIVE UP

The bonus track of this collection takes us back to Naples, where a chorus dedicated to the players this time is dedicated to all those who are experiencing dramatic moments of fear due to the coronavirus. Because it is always better to remember it: PEOPLE LIKE US NEVER GIVE UP.