All Quiet on the Grand Canal

It was remarkable to see the Grand Canal so still on a Friday night in May at 8:15 pm, but this was taken during the Covid lock down, when even those most weary of tourists would have preferred them--and in huge numbers--to the virus. One source of hope during this very bad time was that it might inspire a new commitment to diversifying the city's tourism monoculture: even Venice's then and current non-resident mayor mouthed such sentiments. But he has turned out to be as committed to such aims as he was to the promise he made during his first campaign to increase the resident population--which is to say, not at all. Napoleon threatened that he would be Venice's Attila, but two centuries later Luigi Brugnaro has actually proven to be just that. (8 May 2020)