174. Human Chain

No matter how many times I go to Italy, I am always an outsider looking in. Sure, each time I go, I become a little more familiar with the language, or comfortable navigating public transportation or able to know just how to get served in a coffee bar or market. I adjust, somewhat, to the rhythm of the Italian day. And when there’s an earthquake or I’m in a church badly in need of repair and restoration, I’ll make a donation to the cause. But I’m always an outsider making a gesture, more for my own personal satisfaction than anything else.

You may recall that northern Italy was among the first hit and the worst hit by COVID19 in 2020. More than 3,300 died in the small northern city of Bergamo alone, with the unofficial death toll estimated to be twice that high. And now, three years later, Bergamo and its neighboring city Brescia, in acknowledgement of this ordeal and in recognition of their culture, architecture and natural beauty, have received the shared designation of Italian Capital of Culture 2023.

To celebrate this honor and to mark the tragedy of the pandemic, the people there planned a human chain joining the two cities, about fifty miles apart. Rather than join hands, they hatched a plan to have people connect by holding hand-made five-foot-long scarves (five feet being the distance that had been required by social distancing requirements during the height of COVID), as a way to commemorate what they’d been through and honor the strength of their communities.

It would clearly take a load of scarves to connect people over a span of fifty miles. Community members of all ages got to work knitting and crocheting, in a modern version of quilting bees. And the call went out, far and wide: who can help us with this project? A notice went out from one of the Italian instructors at the America-Italy Society of Philadelphia, of which I am a member.

I feel a “ping” when something comes my way that has the perfect combination of being interesting, useful and possible for me to actually accomplish. And this was pinging loud and clear.

So I sent out the word to all the women I knew whom I thought would be willing and able, and sure enough, within two weeks I had a box of fifteen knitted scarves, all distinctive and creative, to ship out.

How I wish I could have been there on June 4 for the actual event! But how great that the human chain extended all the way to our little corner of greater Philadelphia, so that we were with them not just in spirit, but as actual links in the chain.