Edmond Prenga, who runs a bakery near Rome’s Piazza Bologna, started a phenomenon that has been replicated by other local shopkeepers around Rome. The 39-year-old Prenga, owner of the Bon Pan bakery on Via Lorenzo il Magnifico, attaches bags of bread outside his shop in the mornings, free for those in financial difficulty as a result of losing work during Italy’s Coronavirus lockdown.

He leaves the bags under a message in Italian: “If you need it, this is for you”, alongside Italy’s message of hope: “Andrà tutto bene” (Everything will be all right). Prenga explains the reason for this kind act: “I experienced hunger, I arrived in Italy in 1998 without a lira, I know these problems well”