The first time I met Veronica Grechi, I almost made her cry. Not because of anything I said or did — not intentionally, anyway. But back in February, when I arrived, I was her first guest in four months. And as the owner of a B&B with just four rooms (Velona's Jungle in Florence), the glimmer of hope that I offered — even on a quick work trip — was almost overwhelming.

Three months on, Veronica was on tenterhooks, awaiting her first foreign guests of 2021. "I'm really emotional," she WhatsApped me the night before their arrival. "I'm so happy to see my guests because I've missed them so much. Seeing the city empty made me weep every time I went for a walk because Florence's beauty was made to be shared — and to have it to ourselves wasn't natural."