In the northern Italian village of San Fiorano, groups of all ages gather outdoors to catch up and play cards.
In some ways, it's much like it usually is, except most of the workplaces, shops and bars are closed, and people aren't allowed to stand too close to each other.
That's because San Fiorano, like 10 other towns and villages in northern Italy, is a 'red zone' - directly in the path of deadly coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China.
As Italy struggles with the worst outbreak in Europe, some of the residents of the small towns under quarantine between Lombardy and Veneto are so bored that they can't stay behind closed doors any longer.
It's been over a week since the towns were locked down by the Italian government, the main routes in and out blocked off.
School's out in San Fiorano (Image: Marzio Toniolo)
Marzio Toniolo is a 35-year-old primary school teacher. He normally makes a record of his travels through reportage photography, but now it's the streets of his own town that he is documenting.
"Everything is going well, more or less. It's... normal. Well, more normal than outside," he laughs, searching for the right word.
"Outside [the red zone] there's a sense of panic, of chaos. There's not a feeling of panic inside, we're getting along fairly peacefully, as much as we can."
The areas around the red zone have police, soldiers, checkpoints - the "forces of order" - all of which does nothing to help the uneasy feeling of those looking in from the outside. Several tens of thousands of people are under lockdown, guarded by some 400 officers around the periphery.
"But inside, it's not a completely closed area. You can go through the fields if you really wanted to escape."
Of course, he points out, you risk arrest if you do that.
Marking the days of lockdown (Image: Marzio Toniolo)
We told my grandpa 100 times that the bar is not open because of the Spanish flu, to make him understand
Marzio's grandfather looks out at an empty street
Marzio's grandfather is old and has dementia.
"We told my grandpa 100 times that the bar is not open because of the Spanish flu, to make him understand ," he says.
"We have to remind him regularly that when he goes out, he shouldn't stand close to people.
"That's really a problem because lots of elderly people go out to meet each other, and they go around in groups. They stand very close together and talk with very little distance between them. This could be dangerous."
"No, I'm not nervous. I was in the first days, because the stress, the anxiety, psychologically it amplifies every sensation or pain or ailment you have," Marzio says about the early days of the experience.
"I felt like I had a headache, I felt like I had a fever. It's all in the head."
"It's so important to feel good in yourself and in your health, because it allows you to face up to this thing calmly."
Marzio said his only concern is for patients who have pre-existing health concerns or progressive conditions, who are at an increased risk.
"It seems like the people who are already in good health don't need to worry. Obviously it's important for people to respect the advice that they have been given to avoid getting infected.
"I think that this thing will pass, of course. It might take a long time, but it's not Ebola or Chernobyl. It's like a strong flu or pneumonia, it's possible to get over it," he said.
"I did know someone who had the virus but they recovered," Marzio tells RTÉ News from inside the red zone.
"He's doing really well. There was a bit of a fever, some sore throat, but now he's in isolation. Everyone else I know is doing really well, they are in good health."
This high-profile virus has drawn the attention of the whole world, but many of those who contract it might be inclined to stay quiet.
"I don't think there's secrecy around it as such - maybe a little bit, because I imagine that there's a little feeling of blame or fault in saying to others that you're infected," says Marzio.
"My friend was infected, but he was very good, very kind, and he informed the whole community in such a way that people could see who had had contact with him and go into quarantine. That's so important."
Keeping a safe distance (Image: Marzio Toniolo)
My friend was infected, but he was very good, very kind, and he informed the whole community in such a way that people could see who had had contact with him and go into quarantine. That's so important.
Some protect their faces in the red zone, some don't - differing in their views on the masks' effectiveness.
Whether you believe in masks or not, you're stuck if you don't have them in San Fiorano.
In the smaller stores, just four or five people are allowed in at a time. Inside, it's business as usual, except you have to be wearing gloves and a face mask.
But the pharmacies are all out of face masks.
"If I want to buy a mask now, I have to order it in a pharmacy, but it won't arrive for a week. But at the same time, to go shopping I need to be wearing a mask and gloves. So if you didn't buy them to begin with, you're screwed."
The Toniolo family went to the market a few days ago, and bought enough to last them a month indoors, "so that we don't have to come back and come into close contact with anyone".
"In the big supermarkets there's everything - we really aren't lacking anything," says Marzio.
A sign reads: 'Please enter with mask and gloves for everyone's safety - four customers at a time'.
Buying provisions (Image: Marzio Toniolo)
Pietro Mazzocchi, 59, has the dubious honour of being the first Italian mayor to catch the new coronavirus - but sees it as an occupational hazard.
"Mayors are on the front line. They absorb everything, for better or worse", he tells AFP from his home in Borgonovo, a town of some 8,000 inhabitants in north Italy.
"It had to happen to someone", he quips.
The picturesque little town of Borgonovo Val Tidone sits among the rolling hills of Emilia Romagna.
Mr Mazzocchi woke up on Sunday feeling weak, and had a temperature and mild cough. After his son started running a fever too, he alerted a doctor and had the test done.
His test came back positive on Wednesday, but he insists: "I'm not particularly worried".
People have been advised to keep their distance in company (Image: Marzio Toniolo)
The people of these towns are refusing to be beaten down by the weight of the virus, instead finding new ways to get by.
In the village of Castiglione d'Adda, an unassuming bus stop bench has become a lifeline.
Residents head to the bench daily, where those on the outside drop off money, groceries, cigarettes or documents.
One woman comes to bring provisions to her sister-in-law, leaving with a cheerful "good day!" to the soldiers.
A vet collects medicine for his cattle. An accountant drops off his bills and taxes to be paid in Lodi, 20km away.
Others come just to chat and joke with the soldiers, and breathe a bit of life from the outside.
Keeping busy indoors: Marzio's family entertain themselves (Image: Marzio Toniolo)
In San Fiorano, one small boy refused to give up celebrations for the annual carnival season, and instead walked down the road in his Superman costume.
Some things would not have been possible 20 years ago.
Work is closed for many of the residents inside the red zone, but for Marzio, it's a time to stay connected with his pupils online, using WhatsApp and email to keep things going.
Their parents are able to access exercises, to give the kids something to do, and the teachers can collect them for correction.
In nearby Codogno, dubbed by Italian media as 'the Wuhan of Italy', secondary school science teacher Roberto Cighetti is continuing to educate through the lens of Instagram.
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He is in constant contact with his students, aged 15 to 19, through WhatsApp groups, and he has been talking online about science and the coronavirus - or 'Codognovirus' - on YouTube and Twitch.
Roberto says things have been calm inside the town. Most people are more concerned about the economic impact of the shutdown than the actual virus.
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Pietro Mola, a young accountant from Castiglione d'Adda, says it's lucky they are "not confined" to their houses.
Despite the fresh air and time for exercise, the worry is growing over the economic fallout of the virus.
Mr Mola works for various companies - from restaurants to tattoo artists - all within the red zone. All are closed and the quarantine still has over a week to go.
"It's a chain. If they don't win, I don't win," he says.
"The companies that don't have a strong backbone are not going to make it."
All images provided by Marzio Toniolo
