You walk around Reggio Emilia and you think: this is paradise. Here, on a sun-dappled autumnal morning, was the paceless, impeccable life of a northern Italian provincial town. Well-dressed locals swarmed through ancient piazzas.

But it was an illusion of paradise. That morning, the locals were swarming to Reggio’s giant open-air clothes market where prices started at 50 cents. New shoes cost €6. While Italy sinks, people keep up appearances.

“Crisis” isn’t the word for Italy any more, says the British historian of Italy, John Foot. A “crisis” ends, whereas Italy just keeps declining, like almost no other developed country since 1945. Real incomes are now lower than 15 years ago. Over three visits to northern Italy this autumn, I’ve tried to understand how ceaseless decay changes the way a country lives.