Gondoliers chat as they wait for customers near St Mark's square in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) 
Culture

Photo special: In carnival season, Venice is a shell of itself as tourists flee Italy over coronavirus scare

Photo special: In carnival season, Venice is a shell of itself as tourists flee Italy over coronavirus scare.

Francisco Seco
A gondolier looks at his phone as he waits for clients. Venice in the time of coronavirus is a shell of itself with empty piazzas, shut basilicas and gondoliers idling away. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Tourists wear protective masks and pose for a photograph at the Rialto bridge in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Tourists eat a meal on an almost empty restaurant terrace in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A waiter waits for customer as locals eat a meal in a restaurant at the St Mark's Square in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Locals and tourists walk along a nearly empty St Mark's square in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Tourists hold their protective masks as they pose for a photograph at the Rialto bridge in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A gondolier on the Grand Canal as the sun sets in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A seagull stands on a pole next to parked gondolas at the lagoon on a rainy day in Venice. Venice in the time of coronavirus is a shell of itself. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A couple takes shelter against the rain with an umbrella as they walk in St Mark's Square during a rainy day in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Gondolas parked on a rainy day in Venice. Venice in the time of coronavirus is a shell of itself with empty piazzas, shut basilicas and gondoliers idling their days away. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Commuters and tourists take a bus boat in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Commuters and locals take a bus boat in Venice. Venice in the time of coronavirus is a shell of itself with empty piazzas, shut basilicas and gondoliers idling away. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A man takes shelter against the rain in Venice. Venice in the time of coronavirus is a shell of itself with empty piazzas, shut basilicas and gondoliers idling away. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Gondolas parked on a rainy day in Venice. Venice in the time of coronavirus is a shell of itself with empty piazzas, shut basilicas and gondoliers idling away. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A shop assistant waits for customers at the Murano island in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
People walk past a reflection of the Mona Lisa in the Leonardo da Vinci museum, temporary closed due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A man, reflected in a carnival masks shop display window, crosses a bridge at the Murano island in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A woman wearing a bridal dress poses for photographs near St Mark's square in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Boats sail along the lagoon next to parked gondolas in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)