Raising voices and lifting spirits…
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Folks from the Italian village of Siena (yes, home to St. Catherine of Siena) lifted their windows and one another’s spirits by singing out to the night during the mandatory coronavirus quarantine.
The viral, 39 second video was shared by @valemercurii on Twitter and has already received 1.6 million views. The message accompanying the clip simply says: “People of my hometown #Siena sing a popular song from their houses along an empty street to warm the hearts during the Italian lockdown.”
In the clip, rich melodic voices fill the air in place of passersby filling sidewalks. One by one, singers join the song and the scene of an empty street quickly feels a lot less lonely. The experience brings to mind the words of C.S.Lewis in regard to living in an atomic age, as the situation he speaks to and the situation at hand is similar:
“If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things — praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts — not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies but they need not dominate our minds.” — C. S. Lewis, ‘On Living in an Atomic Age’ (1948) excerpt
People of my hometown #Siena sing a popular song from their houses along an empty street to warm their hearts during the Italian #Covid_19 #lockdown.#coronavirusitalia #COVID19 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/7EKKMIdXov
— valemercurii 🌚🛰 (@valemercurii) March 12, 2020
Here are some photos taken today from Aleteia photographer Antoine Mekary:
