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

Updated:5th Mar, 2020 at 5:32 PM

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)

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