Its streets and waterways are usually a favourite destination for tourists from all over the world.
Yet the hustle and bustle of Venice is now nowhere to be seen after the Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte last night announced a country-wide lockdown as part of the ongoing battle against the spread of coronavirus .
Citizens have been told not to leave their homes, except to go to work and in emergencies, while all public gatherings have been banned and sporting events cancelled.
As a result, normally thriving areas like the fondamenta della Misericordia and St Mark's Square in Venice, the capital of northern Italy's Veneto region, is now closed to tourists for the first time in centuries, making it resemble a ghost town.
Travel across the entire country has been restricted - extending the ban already in force in the north - to cover more than 60million people.
Weddings and funerals are also banned and all schools are closed.
The unprecedented shutdown is thought top last until the beginning of April.
Italy is currently the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, with the number of cases rising above 9,000.
So far, 450 people have died.
