The "Romeo and Juliet" of the coronavirus lockdown who fell in love from the balconies of their homes in Verona are set to get married.
Michele D'Alpaos, 38, and Paola Agnelli, 40, met during Italy's ten-week lockdown in March.
Unable to leave their neighbouring apartments, their relationship blossomed through phone calls and conversations on their balconies.
After finally meeting in a local park in May, Mr D’Alpaos, an IT worker, told the Times: "We are absolutely getting married and all we have to do is set the date.
"We are considering a ceremony on the large roof terrace of my building, which would make sense since we met on our balconies."
Ms Agnelli, a lawyer, was stood on the balcony of her sixth-floor when she spotted Mr D'Alpaos on the balcony of his seventh-floor flat.
The pair had both come out to listen to music played at 6pm every day to lift people's spirits during the lockdown.
They struck up a relationship and exchanged numbers.
As their relationship progressed, Mr D’Alpaos hung a large banner on the roof of the building with "Paola" written on it - which drew the attention of local newspapers.
By July, the couple were spending time with each other's parents at the beach and in the Alps.
"This relationship is real and something to protect - meeting like that was our destiny and it is wonderful that we could fall in love in the midst of such a tragic event," Ms Agnelli told the Times.
