"Once more after the Great Depression and the Great Recession, our textbooks will have to be rewritten. This book is an excellent starting point for a chronicle and analysis of how Italy - an advanced economy and democracy - has reacted to the pandemic shock and coped with it."

- Graziella Bertocchi
Professor of Economics at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and President of the Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance

"One of the silver linings of the COVID crisis has been the incredible mobilization of economists and other social scientists to assess in real-time what was happening, what needed to be done, and what may come next. There is no better example than the set of contributions in this book."

- Olivier Blanchard
C. Fred Bergsten Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former IMF Chief Economist

"Italy was the first COVID epicenter outside China. This book examines in real-time the pandemic's severe impact on Italy, highlights the vulnerability of modern society to calamity, and calls for urgent actions to cushion its consequences, improve state capacity, and enhance international cooperation. It is a timely book for understanding the pandemic's challenges in Italy, in the world, and in the future."

- Justin Lin
Professor and Honorary Dean of National School of Development at Peking University and former World Bank Chief Economist

"The contributions to this book provide clear insights to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the Italian economy and a much-needed knowledge basis to turn this crisis into an opportunity for transformation."

- Lucrezia Reichlin
Professor of Economics at the London Business School