You’ve surprised us.”Whoever thought that day would come. The coronavirus may give it a chance to try.VENICE — For a change, it was the Venetians who crowded the square.Days before Italy lifted coronavirus travel restrictions on Wednesday that had prevented “This can be a working city, not just a place for people to visit,” said the protest’s organizer, Andrea Zorzi, a 45-year-old law professor who frantically handed out hundreds of signs reading, “Nothing Changes If You Don’t Change Anything.” He argued that the virus, as tragic as it was, had demonstrated that Venice could be a better place. Students who stayed and built careers and families in Venice couldBut as advocates of change talk of motivating long-term lending through housing-tax breaks, low-interest loans, and a restricting of In recent days, the city was opened only to those in the surrounding Veneto region. “It can be normal,” he said.The coronavirus has laid bare the underlying weaknesses of the societies it has ravaged, whether For months, the alleys, porticoes and campos reverberated with Italian, and even with Venetian dialect.

Italy has by far the highest number of coronavirus cases in Europe, with 152.

Rarely has Venice looked so beautiful - bereft of visitors her true splendour is once again exposed.But this is a beauty which will soon fade.

The arrival of visitors from beyond Italy’s shores now viewed as a booking error rather than a genuine booking.The only language you hear is Italian - for now Venice is for the Venetians. And local tourism workers said they hoped things would switch back soon.“It’s been a bad period.

But the city was offered a sense of what was, and what could be. Residents even ventured to St. Mark’s Square, which they usually avoid.Now, it’s a destination that largely lives off its history and a tourism cash cow worth 3 billion euros, or about $3.3 billion. Three people have died. Without them Venice is a much nicer place but it cannot sustain.We arrived in an empty water bus, along the empty Grand Canal. The coronavirus has struck Italy very hard, with more than 27,000 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as of March 16, 2020.. Of … I want my city to be a real city.”“Airbnb is like our Covid,’’ he added. Italy has been ravaged by the coronavirus, but residents of one of the country’s most famous cities have managed to find a silver lining. Despite booking the day before it was all locked up. Forget travels to Venice, Milan and much of northern Italy until April 3, as a government decree forbids movement in and out of Lombardy, parts of … The city largely lives off its history and a tourism cash cow usually worth about $3.3 billion a year. No gondolas, no other boats and no sound save the tolling of a bell every now and again. The tourists would be more like the arts crowd that flocks to the Venice Biennale, and they would carry canvas tote bags and be interested in Venice’s heritage, its museums and galleries. Venice shut down in February in the last days of its annual Carnival celebration when the coronavirus hit Italy and has become the epicenter of the outbreak with over 30,000 cases. It may yet prove to be the moment Venice reassesses its relationship with mass tourism.This pandemic has provided a pause and a chance for Venice to reimagine its future - the quieter streets a reminder of a lost past.By using this site, you agree we can set and use cookies. But longtime proponents of a less touristy city are hoping to take advantage of the global standstill.“This is a tragedy that has touched us all, but Covid could be an opportunity,” said Marco Baravalle, a leader of an anti-cruise-ship movementHe said he feared that the city’s mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, backed by powerful boating and tourism interests, would turn things back as soon as possible. But the money comes at the price of hordes of visitors who have pushed out a diminishing population of Venetians.Campo San Giovanni e Paolo on Monday. You’ve surprised us.”Whoever thought that day would come.

The Castello district of Venice. Venice's waterways have been left deserted due to the impact of coronavirus. Three people have died. Even they accept that this is not the Venice they sought.It is a moment of history though, a moment few Venetians ever thought they would witness. But with the money comes hordes of day trippers, giant cruise ships, growing colonies of Airbnb apartments, souvenir shops, tourist-trap restaurants and high rents that have increasingly pushed out Venetians.That lucrative model is likely to return. Only Italian — and Veneto-accented Italian — could be heard over the “We thought we’d take advantage of this last chance to see Venice when it is only for us, alone,” said Matteo Rizzi, 40, from nearby Portogruaro, whose children carried cameras as he crossed a bridge into the city from the train station. The borders will open in the next few days but no one here is too sure whether anyone will take the chance to visit.The campaigners who have fought to reduce the amount of tourism can hardly believe what they are seeing. No gondolas, no other boats and no sound save the tolling of a bell every now and again.

Most of the shops were still shut and to those who had opened we were something of a rare breed.“Where are you from, how did you get here?” one asked us before speaking the words he probably never thought he’d say and I certainly didn’t think I’d ever hear.“We don’t have tourists here in Venice anymore. But I think it will go back to how it was before in about two or three months,” said Jessica Rossato, 28, from nearby Camponogara as she stood outside the Banco Giro bar by the Rialto Bridge. Chat with us in Facebook Messenger.