When all roads lead to Rome no more

17th century surgical face mask: the costume of a Roman physician in 1656 included 'occhiali di christallo' (crystal glasses) and 'il naso pieno di profumi' (nose stuffed with perfumes') to avoid contagion (from a print in the British Library) 

While Coronavirus news are plaguing our media, more people seek refuge in art, culture, and history - existenti…