Did you ever wonder what it would be like to visit Rome's greatest landmarks minus the crowds? Ever dream of taking a uncrowded subway across the capital to join a minimal or non-existent queue into the Colosseum or the Vatican Museums, or to have breathing space to enjoy the Pantheon or the Trevi Fountain?

Now is your chance. An outbreak of Coronavirus in northern Italy has triggered the widespread cancellation of hotel and tour bookings in the capital where there are - to date - no active cases. True, there is the story of the woman in Fiumicino - a coastal town south-west of Rome with a separate administration to the capital - who tested positive for the Coronavirus, along with her husband and one of her two children, after returning from northern Italy. However follow-up tests on 51 people in the family's closest circles have all proved negative.