The leaning tower of Pisa began to be built in the 1170s, at a time when farcers often advanced throughout the world.

Here, Galileo Galilei tested the law of gravity, something I learned about when I first came here in 1989 as a 17-year-old. Heat, congestion, queues, memento souvenirs. People everywhere. That was my first impression. But I was still seduced by Italy's beauty and culture and hospitality. I like many; the country is one of the world's most visited and tourism accounts for 13 percent of GDP.

The consequences of the corona crisis are devastating.

Flashes red when someone is too close

We walk around and film at Miracle Square, Piazza dei Miracoli. The heat is as oppressive as before, but the emptiness and silence are reminiscent of the crisis. But the Italians are determined to win back tourists. We are shown into the tower, allowed to sit at the right distance to the other visitors and given new, disinfected, necklaces with small vibrating alarms.

If you get too close to another visitor, they blink red and vibrate loudly and bluntly with buzzing sounds. With mouthguards on, we get up the sloping stairs as soon as we get too close to someone vibrates our alarms. While we go up, no one should go down, so we should not get too close to anyone. The tourist Sara, who is there with her two sons, thinks it makes her safe "it feels like it works!". A group of German tourists take pictures and say that they feel completely safe from infection and that it is nice to avoid congestion and queues.

Distance requirements for umbrellas

The guide Ilaria says that Americans and Chinese are completely missing but that they fill their visiting groups again. She, like so many, has been afraid of losing her job in a country where tourism is a cornerstone. But now you look ahead, with cautious optimism.

We take the collars, my photographer Domenico and I, and take the car east, towards the Adriatic. There, the sense of normality is considerably stronger and the bathing and nightlife feel almost as usual. The big difference is that people are no longer so crowded anymore, the umbrellas must have just over three and a half meters between them.

An owner of a bathing resort at Riccione's promenade has found his own way of attracting people in the post covid era and promises on a large sign plenty of space on his beach with the words: "No more packed sardines".