Grazia, the Mondadori Group magazine edited by Silvia Grilli, is the first Italian title to feature a model on the cover wearing a face mask.  The model Stella Maxwell, well-known for her anti-conformist lifestyle, is the protagonist of a real and highly relevant shot. “Fashion,” says Stella, “has always helped to overcome difficulties and also in this health emergency it can do so again.”

Grazia, Italy’s leading 100% Italian fashion brand, with 20 international editions, and the voice of style and news, in the issue on newsstands from tomorrow has given space to a journalistic investigation and campaign aimed at ensuring that the emergency does not become a pretext for setting aside the freedoms that women have gained. The investigation explores the forced return of women to the home in a period when schools are closed, with interviews with the Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family, Emma Bonetti, the mayor of Turin, Chiara Appendino, the mayor of Milan, Beppe Sala, the leader of Fratelli d’Italia, Giorgia Meloni, the economist, Paola Profeta, and many others.

In her editorial, Silvia Grilli writes: “Visible in public places, such as hospitals and scientific laboratories, making the sacrifices of researchers, doctors and nurses. Invisible within families as they try to reconcile remote working with the duties of mother, cook, cleaner, carer of elderly relatives and teacher of children working online during school closures. In a fair world, family management would be shared equally between husbands and wives, given that it takes two to make children just as it should take two to put on the washing machine. But we know that a fairer world cannot be realised in two months, it takes years of education to achieve gender equality. From 4 May Italy will gradually reopen, while schools, kindergartens and nurseries will certainly remain closed until September. Consequently, women will remain the only social service available to deal with children and the elderly. But the problem is that nine million Italian women Italian also work outside the home. Many of us wonder how and if we can go back to work. Who will take care of the children left at home? Who will care for the elderly in the family? How many of us will be forced to resign to take on the totalizing role of the housewife?” Silvia Grilli concludes, as she launches a campaign.

Readers can share their experiences with the magazine and Grazia’s social media profiles, as well as making proposals to present to government and politicians to resolve the issues.

The issue on newsstands from tomorrow also addresses the topic of love and sex in a time of coronavirus. The government has decreed that from 4 May it will be possible to visit relatives or ‘kin’, and, apparently this refers also to “stable relationships”. But there is a certain vagueness about the term “stable relationship”, what does the decree really mean? Who decides whether a relationship is stable or not? The lockdown has obliged many of the undecideds and on-off couples to make a choice: fragile links can break, while, on the other hand, more solid ones can become stronger. The magazine has brought together a range of opinions: from the actress Bianca Nappi, to the actor and writer Paolo Stella, as well as the writer Federica Bosco and actress Federica Fracassi.

Plus: what will be the medium and long-term impact on relationships? “History shows us that, after an emergency, we tend to go back to our old habits,” observes the sexologist Gaia Polloni. “But, it’s also true that we are discovering that the online world works. The change could be quite significant.” In fact, Facebook has lost no time in launching Tuned, an app developed especially for couples living remotely.

Following the measures introduced by the prime minister Giuseppe Conte for dealing with the so-called Phase 2, Grazia also examines how we are going to deal with things such holidays, weddings and the reopening of restaurants.

But there is also space for entertainment, with interviews with the actress Cate Blanchett in lockdown, the singers Benji and Fede who are splitting, and Coco Rebecca Edogamhe, protagonist of the original new Italian series on  Netflix, Summertime, based on the book by Federico Moccia.