> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Amid Lockdown, Optimistic Photos Show Dolphins and Swans Return to Venice - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/clear-canals-venice/ - Published: 2020-03-18T21:35:40.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T15:52:26.000Z - Description: Images from the city show lucid canals and the unprecedented return of wildlife to the city’s waters as gondola traffic has been brought to a halt. - Author: Hakim Bishara - Tags: In Brief, coronavirus, COVID-19, Italy, Venice, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:41 (2019, 2020, part 2) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2020/03/venice_canal_1000.gif) Venice, Italy (Patrik Andersson/Flickr) Italy is under lockdown while COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the country and claim more lives. According to reports today, March 18, about 475 people in Italy died from the virus in the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to a record number of [nearly 3,000](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51952712?ref=hyperallergic.com). Venice, a UNESCO [World Heritage Site](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/394/?ref=hyperallergic.com), has hardly recovered from [extreme flooding](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/394/?ref=hyperallergic.com) in November of last year before it was inflicted with the coronavirus outbreak. Amid this gruesome cascade of events, optimistic images emerging from the lagoon city show lucid canals and the unprecedented return of swans, fish, and even dolphins to the city’s waters as gondola traffic has been brought to a halt. > Venice hasn't seen clear canal water in a very long time. Dolphins showing up too. Nature just hit the reset button on us [pic.twitter.com/RzqOq8ftCj](https://t.co/RzqOq8ftCj?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Gianluca De Santis (@b8taFPS) [March 17, 2020](https://twitter.com/b8taFPS/status/1239863383354224641?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) Italians are, of course, loving this silver lining. Francesco Delrio, who witnessed a boar loitering in the streets, [tweeted](https://twitter.com/Cosodelirante/status/1239203236927680512?s=20&ref=hyperallergic.com), “Boars in the middle of my hometown, dolphins in the port of Cagliari, ducks in the fountains in Rome, Venice canals have now clean water full of fishes. Air pollution dropped. Nature is reclaiming its spaces during quarantine in Italy.” “Seems like Corona is the vaccine and we are virus of the nature!” another Twitter user [asserted](https://twitter.com/freakynit/status/1239968779821404167?s=20&ref=hyperallergic.com). And a third [tweeted](https://twitter.com/CPierini6/status/1240358562909601794?s=20&ref=hyperallergic.com), “Awesome how nature can recover if given the opportunity.” The Taj Mahal, another World Heritage Site, [announced yesterday](https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/taj-mahal-closed-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) that it has closed to the public due to coronavirus concerns. Other iconic world landmarks that have shuttered with the break of the pandemic include the Statue of Liberty, Grand Canyon West, Eiffel Tower, and the Colosseum in Rome, among others. ***Editor’s note 3/20/2020 5:33pm EDT:*** While numerous social media posts and [news reports](https://abcnews.go.com/International/venice-canals-clear-fish-coronavirus-halts-tourism-city/story?id=69662690&ref=hyperallergic.com) claimed to witness dolphins in the waterways of Venice, others have disputed the news, claiming that these dolphins were recorded in the city of Cagliari on the island of Sardinia. > Yes just like the original post clearly states. But dolphins are still in Venice, as the governor posted this video today. [pic.twitter.com/NIP1eShYjR](https://t.co/NIP1eShYjR?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Gianluca De Santis (@b8taFPS) [March 18, 2020](https://twitter.com/b8taFPS/status/1240335631911444481?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) > Boars in the middle of my hometown, dolphins in the port of Cagliari, ducks in the fountains in Rome, Venice canals have now clean water full of fishes. Air pollution dropped. Nature is reclaiming its spaces during quarantine in Italy. [#COVID19](https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [#COVIDー19](https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID%E3%83%BC19?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [pic.twitter.com/dr6QILfF9V](https://t.co/dr6QILfF9V?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Francesco Delrio (@Cosodelirante) [March 15, 2020](https://twitter.com/Cosodelirante/status/1239203236927680512?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) > After a week of lockdown… The canals in Venice are all clear and full of fishes. Kinda gives you the idea what will happen to Earth without Humans! [pic.twitter.com/FVc7N8vmty](https://t.co/FVc7N8vmty?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — TheSpaceAcademy.org✨? (@ThespaceAcad) [March 17, 2020](https://twitter.com/ThespaceAcad/status/1239906128806510592?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) > since there’s no boat’s traffic in venice’s canals, white swans came back ? this is precious [pic.twitter.com/xJOFKL8Dal](https://t.co/xJOFKL8Dal?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — ?¹³ (@fiIterjm) [March 13, 2020](https://twitter.com/fiIterjm/status/1238611456347832321?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com)