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Millions of people were allowed to return to work in Italy on Monday as the country began to loosen its lockdown — the longest imposed in all of Europe during the coronavirus crisis.

Italy — the first European country hit by the pandemic, and the nation with the second-highest death toll after the US — slowly came back to life on Monday, as 4.4 million residents returned to work.

Traffic in downtown Rome picked up, construction and manufacturing sites were back in operation, parks reopened and flower vendors returned to their posts at Campo de’ Fiori, one of the city’s main squares.

“It’s something that brings happiness and joy, and people have been missing that these days,” vendor Stefano Fulvi told the Associated Press.

Though he doesn’t expect to break even in the near future, “you have to take the risk at some point,” he said.

Officials, however, remain wary of setting off a second wave of infections.

Italians are still required to carry certifications explaining why they are out.

Students and workers who were trapped in hard-hit northern Italy when the lockdown began are now permitted to return to the south — though some regional governors are requiring the new arrivals to quarantine for two weeks.

Funerals are permitted, but the services are limited to 15 people, and it’s unclear when Catholic Masses will resume.

Restaurants are still limited to takeout only, with sit-down service several weeks away.

“It’s a new page that we must write together, with trust and responsibility,” Premier Giuseppe Conte said in a message to Italians.

Italy has seen more than 210,000 coronavirus infections — the third-highest tally in the world, behind the US and Spain, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Nearly 29,000 deaths were reported.

With Post wires