ROME—It has been just two short weeks since Italy became the “Wuhan of Europe,” registering more than 4,600 cases of COVID-19 and nearly 200 deaths. Most of the cases are concentrated in the industrious northern regions of the country, but even in Rome, which should be bracing for the Easter crush, the streets are empty and cancellations are close to 90 percent. Trevi Fountain Less than a month ago, the mayor of Rome issued a new ordinance to put up a plexiglass fence surrounding the Trevi Fountain to keep back the estimated 1,200 people who visit the site each hour. On Friday, two weeks after the coronavirus epidemic hit the country, there are less than 100 people an hour who now throw their coins into the famous fountain. Vatican City St. Peter’s square is a must stop for tourists to Rome and the cobbled square in front of the famous basilica is usually surrounded by a line of people waiting to go through the metal detectors to get inside. On Friday, on the day the tiny city state announced its first infection, there were no lines at all. Vatican Museums The line into the Vatican museums generally snakes along the Vatican walls for nearly half a kilometer. But on Friday, no one was standing in line after the country ordered that everyone in a public space has to keep a three-foot distance from other people. Colosseum
