Rome: The call for the official lockdown in various parts of Europe has barred Rome from celebrating its 2,773rd birthday with the traditional gladiators and ancient Romans parade in front of the Coliseum.
Currently the pandemic has called for strong restrictions on the romantic settings of Rome forcing the people to stay at home without any celebrations.
But Mayor Virginia Raggi, decided to bring Rome's ancient centre into the homes of many Italians via TV.
Rome Town Hall will broadcast on Rai 2, the second State TV channel, a show to celebrate the day Rome was founded by its first King Romulus - on 21 April 753 BC.
Italy has been under national lockdown since 10 March and now is struggling to come up with a phase 2 plan for opening businesses.
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Amid growing impatience over the shutdowns that have thrown tens of millions out of work, European countries continued to reopen in stages.
With deaths and infections still rising around the world, the push to reopen has set off warnings from health authorities that the crisis that has killed well over 1,70,000 people globally.
Meanwhile, Denmark, Austria, Spain and Germany began allowing some people back to work, including hairdressers, dentists and construction workers, and some stores were cleared to reopen or will soon get the OK.
In Italy, Premier Giuseppe Conte confirmed that businesses can start reopening on May 4 but dashed any hopes of a full end to the country's strict lockdown any time soon, saying: "A decision of that kind would be irresponsible.’’
Also read: A day in the life of an Italian nurse fighting the pandemic
(With inputs from AP)
