Venice floods: ‘City on its knees’

These are the worst floods to hit the city in more than 50 years. The mayor has blamed climate change and pleaded for government assistance as the city braces for a second day of high water.

Trump impeachment hearings, Bolivia crisis, Venice floods, Polanski controversy

Now that flooding in Venice has subsided, the city is dealing with the aftermath, from damaged buildings to mountains of trash. Estimating the cost of damages is a difficult business, and many Venetians are frustrated.

Los Angeles County beaches are reopening with restrictions after a 47-day closure, but Venice Beach, one of the most popular beaches in the United States, remains mostly quiet. While swimming, surfing, running and walking are allowed, sunbathing or picnicking are forbidden amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The famous gondolas pushed by boatmen in blue and white t-shirts make their reappearance on the Grand Canal of Venice, albeit equipped with masks and surgical gloves. These gondolas are theoretically allowed to resume their activities, but in the absence of tourists in the city, there are very few customers. On these gondolas, social distancing is also required, with seats spaced out and marked with tape on the bottom of the boat.

Italy, severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, is counting on the reopening of European borders to save the summer holiday season. This is particularly true for Venice, one of the country's most visited destinations. Usually severely overcrowded, La Serenissima has found itself without tourists since the lockdown, although they are now arriving back in small numbers. But the city is today questioning its economic model based on mass tourism. Could the Covid-19 crisis become an opportunity to rethink the future of Venice? Our correspondents report.

Thanks to COVID-19, Italy's lagoon city has been unusually empty, but visitors are now slowly trickling back. Some Venetians welcome the crowds, while others fear nothing more than the return of the rattling suitcases.

We look at reactions from the papers after European leaders struck a historic deal and agreed to a coronavirus relief fund. The British papers are looking at a report which alleges British leaders actively ignored threats of Russian interference in elections. And Venice's gondoliers are reducing their boat capacity due to increasingly "heavier" tourists.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the show must go on in Venice as it prepares to host the 77th edition of the world's oldest film festival. Ongoing travel restrictions -- especially a travel ban from the United States into Europe -- mean that most Hollywood elites will be no-shows, along with actors and directors from China, India and South America.

Venice holds its annual Regata Storica, drawing hundreds of people as boats move through the Grand Canal. "It's less joyful this year," says one local resident, before adding that "it's always beautiful."

From masked, walled-off red carpet premieres to more female directors than ever, Eve Jackson takes us to Venice with film critic Emma Jones to bring us the highlights from the 77th Venice Film Festival, including interviews with the team behind "Pieces of a Woman", "The Duke" and "I am Greta".

Venice is widely considered to be the centre of European art and architecture. But after six months of Covid-19, including three months of lockdown that crushed the tourism industry, Eve Jackson visits the city to find out how it's changed.