In Italy, a dip in new Covid-19 cases means that only (!?) 3,599 were announced on April 7. Italy’s total death count on that day was 16,523. Italy has been through hell, with more pain to come.

The Barilla Group has been supporting its homeland with donations, and now a film by Publicis Italy to lift the spirits of its people. The film expresses the brand’s closeness and gratitude to #italiacheresiste (#resilientitaly), a trait that became apparent during WW11.

The film’s message, voiced by Sophia Loren, was created through a collaboration with Holden Studios, the creative laboratory of the most authoritative writing and storytelling school in Italy, the Holden School. As an Italian icon, Sophia Loren, embodies the Italian spirit, its beauty, its excellence, the desire to do and to be able to help. The actress worked on the film pro bono. The soundtrack comes from Vangelis, rearranged for the orchestra and is one of the most famous of many Vangelis songs used in Barilla advertising.

The film is running on national TV in Italy.

Barilla has donated more than two million euros to the Maggiore Hospital of Parma, the Civil Protection and the Parma Red Cross. The most important donation, those to the Maggiore Hospital of Parma, will allow a significant improvement of the equipment and functionality of the Intensive Care Unit in dealing with victims of Covid-19.

The second contribution from the Alimenta Foundation, established by Barilla in 2009, will assist the Civil Protection and the Parma Red Cross, helping to provide a series of medical devices and logistical equipment necessary to face the crisis that the territories of Parma and Cremona are experiencing.