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The Rome Plague Diaries: Lockdown Life in the Eternal City
On the first morning of Rome's Covid-19 lockdown Matthew Kneale felt an urge to connect with friends and acquaintances and began writing an email, describing where he was, what was happening and what it felt like, and sent it to everyone he could think of. He was soon composing daily reports as he tried to comprehend a period of time, when everyone's lives suddenly changed and Italy struggled against an epidemic, that was so strange, so troubling and so fascinating that he found it impossible to think about anything else.
Having lived in Rome for eighteen years, Matthew has grown to know the capital and its citizens well and this collection of brilliant diary pieces connects what he has learned about the city with this extraordinary, anxious moment, revealing the Romans through the intense prism of the coronavirus crisis.
Having lived in Rome for eighteen years, Matthew has grown to know the capital and its citizens well and this collection of brilliant diary pieces connects what he has learned about the city with this extraordinary, anxious moment, revealing the Romans through the intense prism of the coronavirus crisis.
304 pages, ebook
Published February 4, 2021
About the author
Matthew Kneale
22 books175 followersMatthew Kneale was born in London in 1960, read Modern History at Oxford University and on graduating in 1982, spent a year teaching English in Japan, where he began writing short stories.
Kneale is the son of writers Nigel Kneale and Judith Kerr, and the grandson of essayist and theatre critic Alfred Kerr.
Kneale is the son of writers Nigel Kneale and Judith Kerr, and the grandson of essayist and theatre critic Alfred Kerr.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 9, 2021
I’ve read several of Kneale’s novels and English Passengers remains a favourite in my memory. He’s lived in Rome for over 20 years with his family: his Canadian wife, Shannon, and their two nearly grown teenage children, Alexander and Tatiana. I liked the idea of getting a glimpse into the initial lockdown (March to May 2020) in Italy through the e-mail updates he wrote for friends and later formalized and collected. Kneale is grateful for the stringent Covid regulations put in place by his adopted country, especially compared to his native Britain, which could have saved many more lives had it locked down earlier.
There ended up being a lot more here about Roman history (the ancient empire as well as the modern city) than I expected or felt like engaging with. I most enjoyed the Good Friday tour he leads readers on in his imagination, the photographs of empty tourist attractions, and the notes on food – what they ordered from markets and restaurants, and the pasta dishes he cooked at home. He gives recipes for these simple, comforting dishes. If you’re more of an Italophile than me, you may well like this a lot. The most similar read I can recall is Dottoressa by Susan Levenstein.
Favourite lines:
“I have to say, I’ve never been so proud to be an honorary Roman.”
“You might think Romans would be used to the heat but no, they moan and complain, just as the English moan about damp, lightless winter days, and Ontarians complain about the cold.”
“Its [Rome’s] virtues are its food, its climate, its seasons, its light and its colours. And also its people who, in their selfishly cynical way, are warm and easy-going.”
“I’m optimistic. … My hope is that Rome’s greatest golden age is yet to come.”
There ended up being a lot more here about Roman history (the ancient empire as well as the modern city) than I expected or felt like engaging with. I most enjoyed the Good Friday tour he leads readers on in his imagination, the photographs of empty tourist attractions, and the notes on food – what they ordered from markets and restaurants, and the pasta dishes he cooked at home. He gives recipes for these simple, comforting dishes. If you’re more of an Italophile than me, you may well like this a lot. The most similar read I can recall is Dottoressa by Susan Levenstein.
Favourite lines:
“I have to say, I’ve never been so proud to be an honorary Roman.”
“You might think Romans would be used to the heat but no, they moan and complain, just as the English moan about damp, lightless winter days, and Ontarians complain about the cold.”
“Its [Rome’s] virtues are its food, its climate, its seasons, its light and its colours. And also its people who, in their selfishly cynical way, are warm and easy-going.”
“I’m optimistic. … My hope is that Rome’s greatest golden age is yet to come.”
February 7, 2021
Memoir of lockdown life in ROME - Spring 2020
This is the author’s diary of being locked down during the Coronavirus epidemic. It starts on the 10th March 2020 when Italy locked down and continues into early May when restrictions were eased.
His is in many ways a universal experience of Lockdown, there are so many aspects that felt so familiar but it is the overlay of reporting from Rome that makes this different and engaging. He ponders his days as the horizons narrow from being able to be out and about in his postcode area of 00135 Roma, down to a radius of 300 M from his home base. It became mandatory to self certify why you might be out and about.
Each day was different and practically he came to embrace and appreciate the little things in the vicinity, aspects that were taken for granted. The insect life, the graffiti, and ultimately the sadness at life lost. How familiar does that feel!
He lives in Trastevere and regularly frequented the market in neighbouring Testaccio. The family pined for pizza from Da Ivo (there are other great eating recommendations for his area highlighted in the book) and mourned being able to share time with friends. Once he has exhausted the losses and sadness (and acknowledging them in my own experience is quite exhausting), he goes on to ruminate about the city for which he has developed such a palpable passion. He looks a little at the history and makes it feel very accessible: who knew, for example, that Rome was a sinkhole for malaria, right into the 19th Century and that the Jewish populace in the ghetto didn’t suffer because they suffered from overcrowding with no room for pretty flowers. However, the monied people who could amble through the well-watered gardens of the Villa Borghese seemed to be very prone to malaria. He ponders the plagues that have beset the city over the centuries and how the Sack of Rome in 1527 (which I remember from history, even the date felt familiar), carried out by Charles V, took place during a plague infestation.
The concierge for their apartment complex, Cinzia, furnishes him with some wonderful, authentic recipes, which he includes in the text.
There is further detail about driving in the city, his thoughts on Brexit and the tardy lockdown response in his home country (and his consternation at Theresa May’s unfortunate quip about people of varied heritage being “citizens of nowhere“). He discusses the merits or not of the 64 bus (which also feature prominently in She Seduced Me: A love affair with Rome by Mark Tedesco), which seems to be generally cited as the consummate place for pickpocket activity in the city (ok, the Colosseum isn’t much better). He ponders Fascism and Mussolini and notes that of course the homeless and beggars have now once again disappeared and recalls that Mussolini rigorously cleansed the streets of Rome, an uncomfortable parallel.
This is a well written and informative book, without being didactic, that will enable the reader to explore Rome, with the light, personal touch of someone who knows the city very well! The irony now, of course, is that reading this book in 2021 we know that restrictions were eased but the authorities clamped down once again to try and control the spread of the virus.
This is the author’s diary of being locked down during the Coronavirus epidemic. It starts on the 10th March 2020 when Italy locked down and continues into early May when restrictions were eased.
His is in many ways a universal experience of Lockdown, there are so many aspects that felt so familiar but it is the overlay of reporting from Rome that makes this different and engaging. He ponders his days as the horizons narrow from being able to be out and about in his postcode area of 00135 Roma, down to a radius of 300 M from his home base. It became mandatory to self certify why you might be out and about.
Each day was different and practically he came to embrace and appreciate the little things in the vicinity, aspects that were taken for granted. The insect life, the graffiti, and ultimately the sadness at life lost. How familiar does that feel!
He lives in Trastevere and regularly frequented the market in neighbouring Testaccio. The family pined for pizza from Da Ivo (there are other great eating recommendations for his area highlighted in the book) and mourned being able to share time with friends. Once he has exhausted the losses and sadness (and acknowledging them in my own experience is quite exhausting), he goes on to ruminate about the city for which he has developed such a palpable passion. He looks a little at the history and makes it feel very accessible: who knew, for example, that Rome was a sinkhole for malaria, right into the 19th Century and that the Jewish populace in the ghetto didn’t suffer because they suffered from overcrowding with no room for pretty flowers. However, the monied people who could amble through the well-watered gardens of the Villa Borghese seemed to be very prone to malaria. He ponders the plagues that have beset the city over the centuries and how the Sack of Rome in 1527 (which I remember from history, even the date felt familiar), carried out by Charles V, took place during a plague infestation.
The concierge for their apartment complex, Cinzia, furnishes him with some wonderful, authentic recipes, which he includes in the text.
There is further detail about driving in the city, his thoughts on Brexit and the tardy lockdown response in his home country (and his consternation at Theresa May’s unfortunate quip about people of varied heritage being “citizens of nowhere“). He discusses the merits or not of the 64 bus (which also feature prominently in She Seduced Me: A love affair with Rome by Mark Tedesco), which seems to be generally cited as the consummate place for pickpocket activity in the city (ok, the Colosseum isn’t much better). He ponders Fascism and Mussolini and notes that of course the homeless and beggars have now once again disappeared and recalls that Mussolini rigorously cleansed the streets of Rome, an uncomfortable parallel.
This is a well written and informative book, without being didactic, that will enable the reader to explore Rome, with the light, personal touch of someone who knows the city very well! The irony now, of course, is that reading this book in 2021 we know that restrictions were eased but the authorities clamped down once again to try and control the spread of the virus.
March 29, 2023
The English-born author and his family live in Rome and experienced the Covid pandemic there. This is his diary from the first months during the lock-down of Italy. However it is also a lot about Rome and Roman history, so I will be now be lending my copy to a friend who is a true Romanophile.
January 10, 2021
Thanks to Netgalley and Atlantic Books for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Rome Plague Diaries is a wonderful, personal reflection on what life is like living in Rome as the city went into lockdown in March 2020. Imagine from one day to the next being restricted to just a single postcode in Testaccio, restricted both in movement, habits and contacts with those around you. The author has an impressive knowledge and experience of what life is like living in Rome and discusses the many habits, quirks, subtleties and (sometimes flawed) cliches that outsiders have of life in and the inhabitants of the Eternal City as well as a multitude of delicious-sounding Italian recipes. They seem so simple, but probably the taste is also down to the superior ingredients which the author describes with gusto. The book ends in May 2020, but we know by now that the ravages of covid were at that time by no history, so this was just a temporary reprieve.
I try to visit Rome myself at least once every year, being completely in love with the city, and prefer to stay in Trastevere so Kneale's descriptions of his surroundings and experiences. sometimes witty, sometimes serious, are recognisable and highly relatable. I especially enjoyed the author's hypothetical wandering through the city, introducing well-known, but also lesser known sights of the city, which I'm sure to include in my itinerary next time I go. I also cherished his reflection on what it means to see the United Kingdom leave the (in many senses dysfunctional, but highly diverse) European Union, having lived outside of my place of birth for many years yourself. Having missed the opportunity of going to Rome this year, reading this book, I still feel I have been able to enjoy a virtual visit through the eyes of the author. Thank you so much.
The Rome Plague Diaries is a wonderful, personal reflection on what life is like living in Rome as the city went into lockdown in March 2020. Imagine from one day to the next being restricted to just a single postcode in Testaccio, restricted both in movement, habits and contacts with those around you. The author has an impressive knowledge and experience of what life is like living in Rome and discusses the many habits, quirks, subtleties and (sometimes flawed) cliches that outsiders have of life in and the inhabitants of the Eternal City as well as a multitude of delicious-sounding Italian recipes. They seem so simple, but probably the taste is also down to the superior ingredients which the author describes with gusto. The book ends in May 2020, but we know by now that the ravages of covid were at that time by no history, so this was just a temporary reprieve.
I try to visit Rome myself at least once every year, being completely in love with the city, and prefer to stay in Trastevere so Kneale's descriptions of his surroundings and experiences. sometimes witty, sometimes serious, are recognisable and highly relatable. I especially enjoyed the author's hypothetical wandering through the city, introducing well-known, but also lesser known sights of the city, which I'm sure to include in my itinerary next time I go. I also cherished his reflection on what it means to see the United Kingdom leave the (in many senses dysfunctional, but highly diverse) European Union, having lived outside of my place of birth for many years yourself. Having missed the opportunity of going to Rome this year, reading this book, I still feel I have been able to enjoy a virtual visit through the eyes of the author. Thank you so much.
August 2, 2022
I loved this. Having many years ago lived in Italy, though not in Rome, this put me back in touch with many aspects of Italian daily life and culture. It also revived memories of Lockdown - not unwelcome ones: I was one of those who actually relished many aspects of it, because of where and how I'm able to live. If you've enjoyed Kneale's writing; if you love Italy, I recommend your reading this vivid account of a resilient city going through yet another test of its mettle.
May 8, 2024
A series of diary entries by the writer and journalist Matthew Kneale living in Rome during the first Italian lockdown in spring 2020. The rules implemented during this time were very strict and residents were confined to a small area around their homes. There is a wealth of detail included here about the lockdown itself but also about Roman history and culture and additionally some local recipes.
June 18, 2021
An interesting book written during the Italian 2020 lockdown. It's an interesting description of how the author faced that time and how was living in Rome.
It's the good picture of a historical moment, well written and engrossing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
It's the good picture of a historical moment, well written and engrossing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
May 23, 2022
I enjoyed this book because it is all about Rome, one of my favorite cities, and because it includes some good recipes. The diary structure and the writing were a bit boring, however, and the fact that the book was published during the beginning of the pandemic seems premature. The time period covered is March 10-May 4, 2020.
April 9, 2021
I miss living in Rome, and it’s therefore lovely to read stories about life in Rome.
On point though is that the recipes mentioned in the book are not Roman or some even Italian. As far as I know at least
On point though is that the recipes mentioned in the book are not Roman or some even Italian. As far as I know at least
January 31, 2022
Fascinating both as a historical document outlining life in lockdown Rome, but also as a piece of travel, food and history writing.
If you have an interest in life in Italy, or in memoirs of the ongoing pandemic, then this is for you.
If you have an interest in life in Italy, or in memoirs of the ongoing pandemic, then this is for you.
June 24, 2022
A very short snapshot of what life was like in Rome during the lockdown in early COVID times. I love Rome, so I can't really get enough of this type of book. Really lovely, if sad and bittersweet, knowing where we are now.
February 6, 2023
Early lockdown was a strange time and this from Rome is an entertaining recount. It doesn't make me want to live there, but I'm looking up countless names such as Ostrogoth King Theodoric.
July 17, 2023
Perfect to read when on location.
Want to Read
February 3, 2024I learned of this book via this post: https://margaret21.com/2024/02/03/six...
February 17, 2023
I'm planning a trip to Rome this autumn and I'm looking to seeking out the places less touristy places Kneale mentioned in his book.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews