How to help Italy during the COVID-19 outbreak.

updated March 23, 2020
How to help Italy small businesses during the coronavirus outbreak.
What a time we are living in, friends! The past few weeks the news from Italy seems to change daily- and now all of Italy is considered a “red zone”.
This sounds scary, but from everything I’m reading- it seems like a smart decision by the Italian government to help prevent this virus from spreading further.
I know how disappointing it is to have had a trip to Italy planned that you now need to postpone. I have a trip currently planned for this year too, and am not sure what will be happening between now and then.
But even more than that- I can't stop thinking about my friends in the tourist industry in Italy and how devastating this is for them.
Of course I'm concerned for my friends in Italy & their health- but also for their businesses. I’ve been in touch with many of my colleagues & friends to see how they are doing and how we can support them from afar.
Their biggest message is this: Don’t forget about us!
My reply? Not a chance!
Travel is out for now- but hopefully in the coming months we can travel to Italy and not only enjoy our beloved Italia, but support these wonderful family businesses directly that need our help.
Until then, consider some of these ideas:
SHARE:
Share your love of Italy online- whether it is on social media, writing a review or just forwarding your favorite blog post to a friend. Your words matter!
Send your favorite Italy accounts some love by sharing their FB page, IG account with your friends and family and send them some direct love in a message or email, I’m sure they would appreciate it.
5 Free Quick Ways to Help Your Favorite Small Businesses:
- Write a review for their business or products on Amazon, Google, Trip advisor etc.
- Share a virtual event they're holding on social media
- Share a post from their Facebook Page & tag them
- Like, comment & share their Instagram posts
- Write an email or note of encouragement to them
SHOP:
I’ve long been a champion of #bringingitalyhome when we cannot be there- and I’ve gathered some ideas for how to do that from wherever you are, right now. (find ideas here, and here)
We will be donating a portion of every purchase from the Smitten Italy Shop to the Cesvi Organization in Bergamo, one of the hardest hit areas of Italy.
Purchase gift cards for lodging, experiences or meals for your Italy trip. This is a simple yet effective way to help small businesses in Italy survive right now.
- Buy a gift card from The Beehive in Rome
- Purchase a gift card from Curious Appetite Tours
- Purchase a gift card from Juls' Kitchen in Tuscany
- Become a Patreon Supporter for Juls' Kitchen (find out more here)
PLAN:
Don’t give up on Italy- enjoy planning your next trip and spend this time researching where you want to go next. Here are some ideas:
- Grab a copy of our free Italy Travel Planning Starter Kit.
- Dive into our free resource hub
- Purchase the Italy Travel Planning Kit
More Ways to support your favorite Italian Businesses
Food & Wine.
Find pantry staples & wine from small producers if possible and see if they are able to ship.
- Gustiamo has products sourced from small businesses in Italy.
- Roscioli Wine Club is shipping (as of today).
- Curious Appetite has gourmet boxes you can order that look amazing! (Gift cards are also available here)
- Re-read our Building your Italian pantry blog post & download the free guide.
Books & Podcasts.
Buy a copy of Letizia Mattiacci's "A Kitchen with a View" cookbook.
Donate to your favorite podcast. (here are some of my favorites.)
- Escape into a new book about Italy. My friend Michelle has a new book in her Santa Lucia series here.
- Buy a new cookbook from a favorite Italy food writer & cook something new. (here are some favorites)
Virtual Italy.
Scope out online classes, tours & experiences that you can book/purchase. Some of our fave. cooks in Italy are considering doing virtual cooking classes- I'll update this as I get more details.
- Casa Mia Tours has started live cooking lessons, more info here.
- The Florentine has started a fantastic series of online community events called TF Together.
- Context travel has a series called Context Conversations: which includes a seminar called Venice in Peril: A history of disaster in Venice w. Ecologist Luca Zaggia.
- Opera in the Kitchen is starting an online cooking class series- get more info here or email info@operainthekitchen.com.
- Ancient Rome Live is hosting free seminars for anyone interested in learning more about Ancient Rome via livestream, seminars & more.
- Purchase a subscription to Dream of Italy (both digital & physical copy options available)
- Support The Florentine or The Local Italy with a digital membership.
Updates from Italy.
Updates from some of my favorite people on the ground in Italy:
@anamericaninrome
@girlinflorence
@latavolamarche
@casamiatours
@gmcguireinrome
@abbiestark
@cookinvenice
@romewise
@operainthekitchen
@kmzerotours
@julskitchen
@ericafirpo
More Resources.
Donations & Info:
- Cesvi Italian humanitarian organization
- Italian Red Cross
- World Health Organization
- Center for Disease Control
Come share your favorite small biz in Italy in our new Facebook group. Click the photo below!