Lettere da Bologna - Autocertificazione for Santa

Most of us are experiencing some form of social distance fatigue, but even with the recent vaccine approval and dispersion in the U.S., we are not out of the woods yet. There are still many more months ahead of us where we must continue to exercise precautions and limit our contact with others, especially as cases climb to alarming heights during the second wave and circulation of a second, more contagious strain closes borders in Europe. 

Amid all of the frustration and exhaustion, I wanted to take a moment to share with the PBSCA community a special story that warmed my heart this holiday season and provides a valuable reminder to all to continue exercise health and safety precaution. In early November, prime minister Giuseppe Conte received a letter from a 5 year-old boy who requested a special travel permit (autocertificazione) for Santa Claus this year. Find out Conte’s response in the following Forbes’ article. Or you can also follow more of this story in my podcast episode titled Ringraziamento. 

I’ll leave it up to you to draw your own conclusions about this story but I wanted to share it with you all back in Portland as a bit of insight into the approach of Italy’s national leader when addressing the public about the coronavirus. Italy is currently seeing the highest number of deaths since the end of March and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has told Italians to expect a "more sober Christmas, without Christmas Eve gatherings, hugs and kisses".

It has certainly been a challenging year and a holiday lockdown is just the icing on the cake. But I hope that we can carve out a moment of gratitude within this stillness to reflect on the lessons we’ve learned this year and how we will use that knowledge as we step into the new year.