Timothée Chalamet Sends Heartfelt Message To Crema, Home Of Call Me By Your Name

Though the coronavirus has spread throughout the world in the months since it first emerged, certain countries have quickly been classified as COVID-19 hot spots due to the high number of cases in the area. Italy is among the hot spots, with major cities and smaller provinces alike taking a major hit. The city of Crema, known for being the picturesque setting of the 2017 romantic drama Call Me By Your Name, is just one of the areas under strict government lockdown.

Reports show that Italy has over 30,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus with 2,500 fatalities. These dire numbers have led both federal and local governments to join forces and enact strict policies forbidding people from leaving their homes in order to keep the infection rates low. No school, no church, no restaurants. 

Timothée Chalamet was devastated to learn that Italy had been hit so hard by the virus. Having filmed Call Me By Your Name in Crema years ago, the 24-year-old has a special connection to the northern Italian city.

“I’m thinking of EVERYONE in hotspots right now, young and old, but CREMA - my heart is with you, I can’t believe this is happening,” Chalamet tweeted early this morning. “Heartbroken at these stories I‘m reading, in locations I know!! Please try to stay safe.”

The government's mandate for people to stay at home has totally transformed Itay life as we know it, according to a harrowing account from a Crema resident named Beppe Severgnini. Crema, just miles away from major hot spots Rome and Milan, is under lockdown, and the beautiful town has gone eerily quiet. Not only that — the residents are also practicing social distancing, an anomaly for the usually affectionate group.

"When people have appeared, they’ve given one another a wide berth," wrote Severgnini for The New York Times. "So un-Italian. Italy is a touchy-feely society. Fear of Covid-19 forces us to repudiate those senses. It’s painful."

The lockdown is to last for a month, with Italian authorities hoping that the extreme measure will flatten the curve of the coronavirus.