If Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi cannot close Italy’s digital divide in the next five years, it will not be for a lack of effort — or money. Italians long resisted digital disruption, banning Uber after complaints from taxis, tying YouTube up in copyright disputes, and preferring traditional to online advertising. But when COVID-19 hit, this reticence vanished.

In Europe, Italy was the first and hardest hit by the pandemic, which forced many Italians to stay inside their homes for months. With most retail businesses and offices closed, technologies that other countries had previously embraced to increase efficiency — like intranets, e-commerce, and video conferencing — were no longer perceived as being just about saving time. They became vital.