Pope Francis summed up Italy's mood when he said he felt "caged" as he gave his weekly address via video stream, rather than in person from the Vatican window.

Key points: All Italian schools are closed until March 15 due to COVID-19

All Italian schools are closed until March 15 due to COVID-19 Church weddings and church funerals are banned until April 3

Church weddings and church funerals are banned until April 3 Serie A football matches went ahead on Sunday, with fans locked out of stadiums

Face-masked followers in St Peter's Square watched on a giant screen on Sunday as the pontiff took the extraordinary step of sending a virtual blessing, as coronavirus sweeps across Italy.

"It's a bit strange this Angelus prayer, today with the Pope caged in the library, but I see you and I am close to you," Francis said.

Last week, after he was seen coughing during his weekly address, a Vatican spokesperson released a statement that the Pope had only a cold, not COVID-19.

The Vatican is a tiny city-state within central Rome, more than 500 kilometres from the epicentre of the outbreak in Italy's north, including the region of Lombardy.

Shoppers in Milan found out about a quarantine on Sunday morning that affects roughly a quarter of Italy's population. ( AP: Claudio Furlan/LaPresse )

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced a sweeping quarantine for Lombardy on Sunday, restricting the movements of around 16 million people, after the nation's death toll rose to above 360, the highest outside China.

But the entire country seems to be feeling the impact of COVID-19, with many of Italy's remaining 44 million people seeing their economic livelihoods threatened and their normal routines disrupted.

Students are shut out of classes, church weddings and church funerals are banned, and recreational activities have been severely impacted.

Famous attractions remain shut

The Vatican museums, including the Sistine chapel, will remain closed until April 3 at least.

The nearby exhibit of renaissance painter Raphael in Rome is also shut.

Although Italy's north is worst affected, tourist spots like Rome's Spanish Steps have seen dwindling numbers of visitors. ( AP: Andrew Medichini )

Other attractions, including the ruins of ancient Pompeii in the southern city of Naples, are closed to visitors, as tourism in Europe's third-largest economy grinds to a virtual standstill.

Restaurants and cafes are almost deserted in popular tourist destinations like Rome, Venice and Florence.

In the northern regions of Lombardy, Veneto and Piemonte, the Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper reported that restaurants will close early at 6:00pm until April 3.

Major football matches played behind closed doors

Football fans were locked out of stadiums on Sunday as five Serie A games went ahead, despite calls from Italy's sports minister to suspend play.

That meant that supporters of five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo could only watch their hero on television as Juventus beat Inter Milan 2-0 in a top-of-the-table clash in Turin.

The 42,000 capacity Juventus Stadium locked out fans as the home team beat Inter Milan 2-0 in Serie A. ( Reuters: Massimo Pinca )

"It doesn't make sense right now, when we're requesting enormous sacrifices of our citizens in order to stop the spread of contagion, to put at risk the health of the players, referees, coaches and fans," Italy's sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora said in an earlier statement.

Parma against Spal, the first Serie A match of the day, was delayed by 75 minutes as officials considered Mr Spadafora's appeal before deciding to play.

The Italian Government announced last week that all sporting events must be held without fans for at least the next month.

Schools closed until March 15

Schools and universities are closed until April 3 in Lombardy and in 14 provinces in Piemonte, Emilia Romagna, Marche and Veneto in the country's north.

In the rest of the nation, they are shut until March 15.

After the Lazio governor tested positive to COVID-19, buildings in some parts of Rome were disinfected. ( AP: Cecilia Fabiano )

With the Easter school holidays from April 9 to 14, some students could be sitting out classes until the middle of next month, or longer.

In the meantime, many home-bound pupils are participating in online learning, according to local media.

Airports open, but some flights suspended

Italian airports remain open, but some northern destinations are now off limits, with the quarantine in Lombardy restricting movement.

National carrier Alitalia has stopped flying to Milan's Malpensa airport, with the fashion capital the worst impacted major city in Europe.

While Italian airlines are operating normally, Al Italia has stopped flying to Milan's Malpensa Airport due to coronavirus fears. ( Reuters: Yara Nardi )

Australia's Smart Traveller advises a high level of caution when visiting Italy.

It said that Australians "should reconsider their need to travel to the region of Lombardy, and the provinces of Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio nell' Emilia, Rimini, Pesaro and Urbino, Alessandria, Asti, Novara, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Vercelli, Padova, Treviso, and Venezia.

"This includes the cities of Milan and Venice."

Even so, some Australians are happy to go ahead with planned family holidays to Italy, while avoiding the country's north.

No weddings or funerals in churches

For Italians dealing with life-changing events like weddings and funerals, the COVID-19 outbreak has thrown best-laid plans into chaos.

The Corriere Della Sella newspaper reports that neither marriage nor funeral services can be held in churches across the country until April 3.

"The decision is truly drastic, but the measures of the civil authorities are clear," Corriere Della Sella reported.

Pope Francis took the unusual step of giving his weekly address via video link to St Peter's Square. ( Reuters: Remo Casilli )

In his Sunday address, closely watched by Italians, the Argentine-born Pope urged Catholics to show "strength" and "hope" during the world's health emergency.

"I am close through prayer with the people who suffer from the current coronavirus epidemic," he said.

"I join my brother bishops in encouraging the faithful to live this difficult moment with the strength of faith, the certainty of hope and the fervour of charity."

Like the Pope, millions of Italians are feeling "caged" and hoping for light at the end of Italy's long and dark COVID-19 tunnel.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 15 minutes 1 second 15 m The Virus: 7.30 presenter Jeremy Fernandez takes an in-depth look at the spread of COVID-19.

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