Timelapse shows Venice slowly returning to normal

After three months of near total lockdown, Venice appears unusually quiet - and clean.

A few Venetians wonder around St. Mark's square, but no gondolas sailing on the canals, only a few boats and water buses.

Venetians retaking their space, both from the coronavirus and from tourists that have famously overrun it, are being offered a unique opportunity to test the resilience of one of the world's most fragile cities.

The coronavirus put a halt Italy's most-visited city, restricting the flow of 3 billion euros (approx. 3.25 billion US dollars) in annual tourism-related revenue.

Promised government assistance has been predictably slow to arrive.

Meanwhile, an Arkansas theater said Thursday it will postpone a country-rock concert that would have defied the state’s ban on large gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic, days after health officials ordered the show shut down.

The announcement by TempleLive in Fort Smith came less than two hours after state regulators suspended the venue’s pemit to sell alcohol, saying it would remain suspended unless the concert was cancelled.

TempleLive said it would move the Travis McCready show from Friday night to Monday, when the state is allowing theaters, arenas and other indoor venues to reopen with some restrictions. The theater said it was submitting an application to hold the show — expected to draw more than 200 people — which is higher than a 50-person limit the state initially set for such venues.

(Image: Unsplash)