When Francesca De Santis arrived in the US as an exchange student last summer, she never could have predicted the global pandemic that hit her home country especially hard.
Now, after nearly a year in Ohio, she prepares to return home, knowing it won’t be the same when she gets there.
Italy imposed a strict and lengthy lockdown on 7 March – initially in the north, then nationwide – with a ban on walking or exercising more than 200m (656ft) from home.
Since May, bars, restaurants, hairdressers, museums, libraries, shops, churches and cinemas have been reopening in phases.
Video by Hannah Long-Higgins