Gondoliers chat as they wait for customers near St. Mark's square in Venice, Italy, Tuesday, March 3, 2020. Venice in the time of coronavirus is a shell of itself, with empty piazzas, shuttered basilicas and gondoliers idling their days away. The cholera epidemic that raged quietly through Venice in Thomas Mann's fictional "Death in Venice" has been replaced by a real life fear of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
March 5, 2020
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March 5, 2020 7:23 a.m.
AP PHOTOS: Venice a shell of itself as tourists flee virus
VENICE, Italy (AP) — The Carnival period in Venice usually marks the start of peak season in one of the world’s most visited cities, with hordes of tourists piling onto vaporettos to cruise the Grand Canal, strolling through cobblestone streets and lingering in picturesque cafes.