From Monday, May 4, people in Italy are allowed to visit 'congiunti' under the latest set of rules – but even Italians weren't quite sure what that word meant.
Q&A: What are Italy's new rules on going outside in lockdown phase two?
Media reports said this quickly became the most searched-for term on the Italian internet after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the changes in Sunday's television address.
Conte said Italians would be allowed to leave their homes for the first time since March 9th “to visit relatives, but only if they respect distance and wear masks”.
Most major Italian newspapers devoted articles to the subject of whether your boyfriend or distant cousin counted as a relative or not.
“Here is who you can call your relative,” read a headline of the highbrow Il Sole 24 Ore financial newspaper.
The paper's deep dive into the subject included a passage on “emotional relationships” and kinship.
Finally, at the end of last week, the Italian government issued a clarification
Has no one else found this problem.No relatives only friends In Italy.
We don’t have any relatives in Italy,but very close friends made over the last 15 years living here.The authorities haven’t considered this