Romans are actually happy to see traffic cops again

Rome's residents are happy to see traffic cops again

Their reappearance ushers in a welcomed return to normality

after time away due to low traffic in lockdown

(SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POLICE WOMAN CRISTINA CORBUCCI SAYING:

"It is more like conducting an orchestra than performing a ballet, because we need to make all the drivers understand what we are saying with our hands, so we need to make slow movements that are more visible, which is more like an orchestra conductor."

Officers have been directing traffic in the Piazza Venezia since the 1920s

Shifts of thirty minutes are taken on the podium

otherwise, officers' arms get too tired