Venice's nature remains pristine amidst the pandemic.

According to CNN, when the city was locked down, "Venice residents noticed that the water in the city's canals was clearer than before, with small fish swimming around." Many people posted pictures of Venice during these days on a Facebook group called Venezia Pulita (roughly translated as "Clean Venice"), attracting the attention of many others.

Twitter users also made similar observations, noting that for the first time in 60 years, Venice was clean and blue again, attracting wild boars into the streets, dolphins in the port of Cagliari, and ducks swimming in fountains in Rome… after a long period of pollution due to over-exploitation of tourism. Nature is reclaiming its space during the lockdown in Italy.

Travel blogger Ly Thanh Co's fan page shared about Venice during the pandemic: "On the canals of Venice these past few days, dolphins, swans, and schools of fish have returned. The level of pollution from tourist boats has decreased, making the water, which was previously murky and full of oil slicks, clear and allowing you to see the fish below. In San Marco, wild boars roam freely as if it were their own territory."

However, the Venice Mayor's Office argues that this change doesn't necessarily stem from improved environmental quality. "The water appears clearer because there's less traffic on the canal, allowing sediment to settle deeper to the bottom," a spokesperson for the Venice Mayor stated. On the other hand, even without boats on the canal to scare the dolphins away, it will still take a considerable amount of time for water quality to improve.

Huong Thao