Empty but Beautiful! 

For an Italian going to Venice for the day, the train is the most convenient way of transportation.

Trains also are following the social-distancing guidelines, so one get two seats for the price of one! In a train clean as clean can be!

The ride to Venice was smooth and eventless.

An empty Venice was just unimaginable just a few months ago, yet there we were. Walking the narrow streets, and empty Campo, or Campiello.

Walking aimlessly seemed a very good idea! 

There are three (main) ways to S. Mark’s Square; We chose the Rialto Bridge way because we thought the bridge would be free of crowds. Indeed it was!

Likewise, it was lovely to walk the most famous alleys freely, they even looked different from the other times I saw them! Bigger, different, larger. Some store and restaurants are still closed, some may not even reopen again. It was difficult to decide if to rejoice to the tranquillity for the lack of crowds or to be sorry for the lack of business.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Last year alone the arrival of tourists in Venice was 5.52 million!

Tourism is the engine of the Venetian economy, for better or for worse. From it depends on the revenue of services dedicated to tourists, but also transport, catering, the maintenance of the city’s cultural system, etc. In short, it is the tourist spending behavior to determine the survival of many economic sectors.

St. Mark’s Square was, if not empty, certainly much less crowded. Here too some business we’re not open, including the famous Florian Bar; obviously no orchestra at all playing.

It was a fresh, breezy day and we enjoyed sitting in Riva Degli Schiavoni just watching the few vaporettos passing by.

We found a real Venetian restaurant for our lunch break, a place that I would go again when I find myself in Venice, a lovely lunch break with seafood, and an ice-cold Lugana white wine. 🔹 Oh, that’s life!

Ristorante Nevodi – Sestiere Castello 1788, 30122 Venezia Italia

• 

• 

• 

• 

Museums are still closed, some–like Palazzo Ducale–will open only on Saturday and Sundays.

Then we headed back via Ponte dell’Accademia, which is always a nice sight. Accademia Gallery was open.

From the bridge, we noticed that the water was indeed cleaner and greener. We saw the fishes swimming in the canals, but no, we saw no dolphins. I’m afraid that was fake news circulating on the web during the lockdown.

All restaurants and bars have disinfectant on the tables or nearby. Tables are cleaned and disinfected before and after each customer. Masks need to be worn when entering public spaces and many people still wear them while walking outside too, especially in crowded corners.

🔹 Lugana DOC is an extremely versatile wine, which lends itself to numerous combinations: from aperitifs to appetizers, from first courses, with structured sauces, to second courses of meat and fish.

– According to my standards!

A Walk in Venice