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As the world slowly gets back to a new normal in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, one Italian town near Florence has implemented a grid-like social distancing system to help keep people safely apart.

An aerial view of the StoDistante installation located on Piazza Giotto in the town of Vicchio in Italy
The StoDistante installation is located on Piazza Giotto © Francesco Noferini, courtesy of Caret Studio
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The StoDistante installation is located on Piazza Giotto in the town of Vicchio. It features a 1.8-metre grid of squares painted onto the cobblestones to act as a marker to allow people to safely navigate around the square. Created by Caret Studio, which was founded by Matteo Chelazzi, Federico Cheloni and Giulio Margheri in 2014, it acts as a visual representation of the social-distancing advice issued by the Tuscan authorities.

The StoDistante installation located on Piazza Giotto in the town of Vicchio in Italy
The squares are painted onto the cobblestones © Francesco Noferini, courtesy of Caret Studio

"The region of Tuscany established 1.8m as the minimum safe distance to be maintained between people to limit the spread of the virus," says Caret Studio. "This dimension became the design stool to create a safe grid to guide the movement of people around the square. The regular grid has been developed into a pattern, composed by a gradient of squares of differing dimensions that get larger the closer they are to the centre, creating new perspectives and interactions within the existing context."

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The StoDistante installation located on Piazza Giotto in the town of Vicchio in Italy
The grid of squares acts as a marker for safe navigation © Francesco Noferini, courtesy of Caret Studio

When the pandemic is over, the removable paint can be taken away, allowing the square to go back to its original state. StoDistante has the potential to be deployed in various public areas in towns and cities, like open-air cinemas or church services. Further information can be found on Caret Studio's website here.

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