Italy has become the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. More people have contracted and died from the disease than anywhere else in the world to date.

So why exactly has the country borne the brunt of the outbreak? And what more can be done to bring the crisis under control?

On this week's Agenda, we'll find out why COVID-19 has had such a devastating effect on the Bel Paese.

Professor Salvatore Maggiore, Head of the Intensive Care unit at Chieti Hospital details the scale of the crisis and discusses the experimental drug therapies he's hoping could help stem the tide of infection.

Anti-corruption and compliance expert turned Tuscan oliver farmer Philippe Montigny discusses life in lockdown, and how his adopted countrymen and women are coping in these extraordinary times.

And former chief economist at the Italian Treasury ministry, Lorenzo Codogno, considers whether the Italian Government and the ECB are doing enough to prevent a complete economic meltdown.