The day after legislation changes took place which suggested keeping the healthy 1,5 meters distance from any living being on the street, we wandered down to Piazzale Rosmini, the heart of our neighborhood, only to find it packed full of people.
Walking down Via Combi towards our usual café we couldn’t help but notice just how little our rione has changed in the past few weeks.
We entered Bar Neri, a local café on the corner of Via Combi and Via Collauti, and felt lucky to find an empty table. The clock struck 11 (the notorious second-coffee-of-the-day time) and the bar instantly filled up.
After having our usual capo and making our way towards the cashier we made eye-contact with Bar Neri’s owner, Roberta, dressed in shades of emerald green, who was friendly enough to answer some of our pressing questions.
What has changed in the past few weeks?
Roberta: People stopped chatting about sports as coronavirus is now the main topic of the day. But customers come as they always have. I hear a lot of people saying their habits haven’t changed at all.
What changes do you see taking place in Trieste?
Roberta: Now that the schools are closed, I see many dads taking days off and taking their kids to the local park. Not much else has changed in our neighborhood.
Armed with hope and a hand sanitizer (because you never know) we made our way down the busy street in rione San Vito.
