A video in a hospital courtyard captures an 81-year-old Italian’s serenade to his dying spouse.

Due to the restrictions of the coronavirus in Italy, thousands of people have not been able to visit their loved ones in hospitals regardless of their illness.

That didn’t stop Stefano Bozzini.

Earlier this month, 81-year-old Bozzini threw himself into the courtyard of a hospital in Castel San Giovanni, a town in the central region of Reggio Emilia, and started playing his accordion on the second floor under the window of his 47-year-old wife Carla Sacchi, who hospitalized for an illness unrelated to Covid-19. He played some of her favorite songs, including “Spanish Eyes,” the Bert Kaempfert classic from 1965 popularized by pop singers Al Martino, Engelbert Humperdinck and Elvis Presley.

The couple’s son, Maurizio Bozzini, recorded the serenade and sent it to a friend who posted it on Facebook. Local and international media recorded the video, a soulful testimony of deep love.

Ms. Sacchi died Thursday at the age of 74 and was buried on Saturday.

“We have all recognized love in the simplicity and immediacy of its universal language,” wrote Patrizia Barbieri, the mayor of the nearby city of Piacenza, on her Facebook page on Thursday. She thanked Mr. Bozzini for a tender gesture, “which reminded us of what it means to really care for one another. To do everything so that the other person does not feel alone and overcomes every barrier. “

In the video, Mr. Bozzini wears the distinctive hat of the Alpini, the mountain infantry of the Italian army, and he often maintains local Alpini gatherings as well as nursing homes. Alessandro Stragliati, the group leader at the local Alpini branch, said Mr Bozzini brought his wife with him when she fell ill “to distract her”.

After her death, Mr. Stragliati said: “Stefano told me I had lost my Stella Alpina”, a term of tenderness and the Italian name for the edelweiss flower. He is a humble and simple man, but he has touched the hearts of millions. “