Sleeping Dog, Pompeii

A stray dog naps in the sun in Pompeii.

I write this post on the first of May, a public holiday in Italy. Primo Maggio is also known as Festa del Lavoro, a day to celebrate workers. May Day.

While the day is often used as a day for parades or demonstrations in honor of workers, it is also a day of recreation and relaxation, of outdoor concerts and long lunches.

There is no May Day this year. Those who have been working hard during the coronavirus crisis — the essential workers, the doctors and nurses, the grocery clerks, trash collectors, and delivery drivers — will continue to work hard. Meanwhile those who are marooned at home will wonder what day it is.

Italy is set to awake slowly from its slumber on 4 May. Two weeks later, on the 18th, museums and cultural sites, including Pompeii, are set to reopen.

What sites are you dreaming about?

Post first published on May 1, 2020