But don’t stress – there’s a world to explore from your armchair.

Whether you’re self-isolating or practising social distancing, here are five ways you can take a virtual trip to Italy without leaving your house.

Take a cooking class with one of the world’s best chefs

Cooking is the best cure for ... well, everything!

Each night at 8:00 pm local time (6:00 am Aussie time), Michelin-starred Italian chef Massimo Bottura cooks dinner for his family live on Instagram.

Bottura is the chef-owner of three-Michelin-starred Modena fine diner Osteria Francescana, which topped the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2018.

Massimo Bottura. (Photo: ANSA)

But at home, he doesn’t limit himself to Italian cuisine – Japanese soups, vegetable Thai curry and hummus-based dishes have all featured in his videos so far.

Between episodes, Bottura hosts cooking Q&As on IGTV and posts how-to videos for sauces featured in the main show.

He calls it “Kitchen Quarantine”, and each episode begins with a friendly reminder to “wash your hands”, and includes guest appearances from Lara Gilmore, his wife and fellow restaurant proprietor, their son Charlie, and their daughter Alexa, who films the episodes.

The videos show a glimpse into Bottura’s home life.

“This is not a MasterClass,” he said.

“This is more to share with people from all over the world, this idea of social gesture, this idea of bringing some joy in the families that are following us.”

“Visit” the Uffizi museum and gallery in Florence

Go on a virtual tour of the Uffizi museum and gallery in Florence with its online exhibitions.

The Uffizi museum and gallery in Florence. (Photo: Unsplash)

Discover the masterpieces of the gallery’s themed online collections and their history, travelling through captivating descriptions and HD pictures.

Keep up your Italian language skills

Download a language app or enrol in an online language course to brush up on your Italian.

Free apps for smartphones include Duolingo, Babbel and Busuu.

Photo: Unsplash

To keep up your Italian skills while staying home, call or FaceTime friends and family who you can speak la dolce lingua with.

Enjoy a chat over a coffee or a glass of wine.

Watch an Italian series on Netflix

Transport yourself to Italy by watching a series set in the Belpaese.

Photo: ANSA

Here are three of our favourites:

Suburra

If you loved Gomorrah then Suburra is definitely for you.

The series includes rival mafia gangs, corrupt politicians and the involvement of the Catholic church.

Should you be interested in the non-Hollywood version of Italy this is a great insight into organised crime and the depths it has really infiltrated Italian society.

Baby

This teen drama set in the wealthy Parioli neighbourhood of Rome.

Fed up with their families and classmates, two teen girls are drawn to the city’s underworld and start leading double lives.

 It is loosely based on the story of two high school girls in Rome involved in an underage prostitution ring in 2014.

Luna Nera

Set in the Roman countryside during the dark century known for the Inquisition and religious fanaticism, as well as the so-called scientific revolution, Luna Nera is based on a series of books that draw from research into real Italian 17th-century witch hunts, trials and burnings written by Tiziana Triana, who also worked on the screenplays.

Shot in Rome’s revamped Cinecittà Studios, the series is entirely written and directed by women.

Read a book set in Italy

If you’re more into pages than screens, why not pick up a book set in Italy?

Photo: Pexels

Here are three popular picks.

A Room With A View by E.M. Forster

This coming of age story is hilarious, poignant and emotional.

In it, Lucy is wooed by both George Emerson and Cecil Vyse on her Italian vacation, and though she eventually accepts Cecil’s marriage proposal (because it’s socially acceptable), she realises she loves George.

Romantic, progressive and classic with a feminist slant, this book will transport you far away from the confines of your home.

Sicily, It’s Not Quite Tuscany by Shamus Sillar

This is the heartwarming and at times hilarious story of an Aussie couple who sought a Mediterranean sea change only to find themselves in the sprawling Sicilian city of Catania - the “anti-Tuscany” of Italy.

There, any romantic visions they’d had of restoring a villa or stamping their entwined feet in vats of Chianti grapes disappeared faster than the chief witness in a Cosa Nostra trial.

Gomorrah: A Personal Journey into the Violent International Empire of Naples’ Organized Crime System, by Roberto Saviano

In this true story about the underground economy of Naples, you will get a stark look at the place with the highest murder rate in all of Europe. 

To expose the immoral, toxic environment in Naples, journalist Saviano becomes an assistant at a Chinese textile manufacturer, a waiter at a Camorra wedding, and a worker on a construction site, bringing you the shady underbelly in Naples you might have pictured in your wildest imagination, but have never seen.

Gomorrah is bold, heroic and true.