Sylvia Poggioli

Drawing on a centuries-old tradition, a Naples couple has begun lowering baskets from their balcony. People are encouraged to take food they need, and others are encouraged to add food to the baskets.

With church soup kitchens closed because of the coronavirus, an Italian couple in Naples are feeding the homeless and hungry by lowering baskets of food from apartment balconies.

A north-south divide is again dividing Europe, this time in response to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

As the country moves into its fourth week of lockdown, the head of Italy's national institute of health announced that the country "has reached a plateau" in its infection rate.

The U.S. and China have clashed over the handling of the coronavirus outbreak. China is using its soft power to compete with the U.S. for influence during the pandemic.

The "Urbi et Orbi" blessing is normally delivered at Christmas and Easter. The delivered his homily against the dramatic backdrop of an empty St. Peter's Square, glistening in the rain.

Fausto Russo has been hospitalized with COVID-19 for over two weeks. On Wednesday, he spoke to NPR and other media by video in Italy.

Teams from Russia, China and Cuba have arrived in recent days to help Italy. There's gratitude — along with anger that the U.S., Italy's traditional ally, is absent.

Italian army trucks are taking coffins of Coronavirus victims from overwhelmed funeral homes — as doctors treating COVID-19 patients issue urgent pleas for help.

The death toll from the virus grew by nearly 800 to a total of 4,825, officials announced Saturday.

The country has universal health care. But now, fighting tens of thousands of coronavirus cases, Italian hospitals and medical staff are overwhelmed, prompting anguished debate.

Seven years after Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio became Pope Francis, the first non-European pontiff is under attack from traditionalists who think he's leading Catholics astray.

Life in Rome is turned upside down, writes NPR's Sylvia Poggioli: "Even for someone who has reported from war zones, it's unnerving ... like being suspended between the Dark Ages and a sci-fi future."

Coronavirus has brought life in Italy to a standstill. The only sounds on the streets these days are birds, church bells — and songs for healthcare workers from Italians on their apartment balconies.

As the U.S. manages the coronavirus, NPR's Rachel Martin talks to three NPR correspondents in some hard-hit countries: China, South Korea and Italy, to ask what lessons the U.S. should learn.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Monday declared the entire country a "red zone," meaning people should stay home except for work and emergencies.

Italy is resorting to drastic measures to stop the spread of coronavirus. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly also speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter Eric Sylvers, who is in Milan.

The government of Italy has imposed a lockdown on its northern region, including the cities of Milan and Venice. More than 5,800 people have tested positive for COVID-19, and 233 have died.

Almost 200 people have died from COVID-19 in Italy and over 4,000 have tested positive. Though the capital is far from the epicenter in the north, its famed tourist sites are nearly empty.

Rome is not the center of Italy's coronavirus outbreak, but tourists are staying clear of the city's sights, schools are shut down and Romans are having groceries delivered.