Empty Spaces and Abandoned Places: Venice Deserted as Traditional Carnival Held Without Tourists

The Venice Carnival is set in a half-empty city this year, with traditional masks remaining unsold and unwanted in the shops, as travel is restricted this year and all the main events are being held online. The festival will last until Shrove Tuesday (16 February) which is the last day before the start of the Lent, a season of abstinence which finally ends with the celebration of Easter (4 April).

1 / 10

Carnival masks displayed in a Venetian shop, as the carnival is celebrated with no tourists in the city.

2 / 10

Empty Piazza San Marco (St Mark's Square) in Venice amid carnival celebrations.

3 / 10

An Italian artist puts on a carnival mask he made.

4 / 10

A Venetian gondolier navigates the city's canals.

5 / 10

An artist works on an elaborated carnival mask in Venice.

6 / 10

A woman passes by a show-case displaying carnival masks in Venice.

7 / 10

An artist creates a COVID-19 mask for carnival.

8 / 10

The city might seem empty but the pigeons are still flying over Venice's deserted canals.

9 / 10

Carnival masks stockpiled at a workshop of an artist in Venice.

10 / 10

A lone man wearing a mask waits for a ferry in Venice.