Venice (AFP)

On the famous Saint Mark's Square, even the pigeons have disappeared: hunted by the coronavirus, tourists from around the world who usually give them food are no longer there to give life to this magical setting.

"Without tourists, Venice is a dead city," notes bitterly Mauro Sambo, a 66-year-old gondolier who has been crossing the canals of the Serenissima since 1975.

"Even if the deconfinement has started, who takes a gondola ride? Foreigners, not locals", laments this elegant man with a finely trimmed beard, while cleaning his gondola moored in front of the ducal palace.

Twilight atmosphere and deafening silence also reign on the Grand Canal, where only the vaporetti, the Sérénissime water-buses circulate. The sumptuous palaces bordering the two banks, which house cultural institutions and luxury hotels, have all the shutters closed.

In Italy, tourism represents 13% of GDP and 15% of jobs, but the economy of the City of the Doges is even more dependent on this sector.

"About 65% of the population works in tourism, as well as a lot of residents of neighboring municipalities," said the head of tourism at the town hall of Venice, Paola Mar, in an interview with AFP.

"The impact of the coronavirus on the arrival of foreigners, who represent 85% of the tourists coming to Venice, is very heavy compared to other destinations having more domestic tourists than foreigners", she underlines, while The European Union on Wednesday called on its members to reopen their internal borders to prevent a sinking of the tourism sector.

"We have already received requests to know when we can return, how we can return ...", however, rejoices this dynamic woman with abundant white hair.

- "Open to the world" -

"We have survived wars, and this is indeed a war, we will manage to get out of it, thanks to our entrepreneurial spirit", believes Francesco Pecin, a 47-year-old construction entrepreneur who met near the Bridge of Sighs.

He says he is "flabbergasted" facing the lanes and deserted canals. "There are less and less pure Venetians, while there are always more hotels and apartments for rent", he admits, but "we need tourism".

An analysis shared by Enrico Facchetti, a 61-year-old ex-silversmith who walks his dog in front of Saint Mark's Basilica: "The city has a mono-economy based on tourism. Perhaps this is a mistake, but we don't "We have no choice. Without tourists, we will not be able to do!"

"Historically, Venice is open to the world, cosmopolitan: look at this basilica! It is in Byzantine style, the bronze horses on the pediment were taken in Constantinople ..."

The historic center of Venice has only 52,000 inhabitants, out of a total of nearly 260,000, and the hemorrhage towards the mainland continues, favored by a lower cost of living and the attraction of a more comfortable daily life .

The Cannareggio district, less touristy than Saint-Marc, remains nevertheless a little lively: masked and gloved locals wait wisely in front of bars, grocery stores and bakeries.

Even if few inhabitants speak about it, the cohabitation with the tourists is not always serene, as illustrated by a large banner stretched on the facade of a building: "Tired of Bed and Breakfast! House violated!"

The pressure from the tourist sector on the real estate market is strong: in addition to the apartments transformed into Airbnb, the buildings sheltering craft activities are also the object of covetousness.

On the island of Murano, famous for its factories of glass objects, "they are transforming a glassware into a hotel-restaurant", laments Dimitri Tiozzo, a 53-year-old business leader, shaved and thin skull mustache. "There is no longer any artisanal production," he concludes.

But faced with the crisis, the priority is to return tourists, because in addition to the virus "our city has been suffering since November", marked by catastrophic floods, observes Paola Mar.

© 2020 AFP