As Italy prepares to reopen, a last look at Venice in lockdown – empty streets and still waters
- A long-time resident takes a final walk through a truly peaceful La Serenissima, emptied of the 30 million tourists that visit each year
- Rediscovering the majestic Piazza San Marco, the colourful isle of Burano and the shimmering waters of the lagoon
My tiny apartment sits in a narrow alleyway between two canals, just off the Fondamenta Ormesini, a mile-long waterside promenade that is a popular rendezvous for Venice’s partygoers, its bars, trattorie and osterie packed till the early hours with teeming crowds enjoying bubbly prosecco and lethal spritz cocktails.
I have spent more than two months rediscovering this unique city, emptied at a stroke of the 30 million tourists that visit each year. The effect is amplified by the fact there are no cars nor modern buildings in this ageless City of Stone, and with the end of lockdown approaching, I am savouring a final tour through the deserted streets, courtyards and piazzas.
As I cross the main bridge into Cannaregio’s ancient Jewish ghetto, an orthodox Hasidic Jew with distinctive black homburg hat and long curly locks hurries past, pushing a shopping trolley loaded with provisions from a supermarket.
