The images, one taken on April 13, 2020, and the other on April 19, 2019, show how dramatically the number of boats within the Italian city’s main thoroughfare has reduced since the coronavirus crisis began.

The northern Italian city is famed for its network of waterways.

But since Italy announced a strict nationwide lockdown on March 8, the city, usually packed with tourists, has been eerily empty.

The images show that this has had a knock-on effect on traffic in the city.

In April last year, there appears to be dozens of boats in Venice’s Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal, but there were visibly far fewer this week.

The images were taken by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite, which is part of the European Commission’s Copernicus program to observe earth and any changes to the environment.

An aerial view of Venice, before the coronavirus pandemic, taken on April 19, 2019. (Photo: ANSA/ESA)

Various lockdown measures implemented globally have had a number of effects on the environment.

Within days of Italy’s lockdown, Venetians began sharing photos that showed fish and other wildlife visible in crystal clear waters, which usually have boats churning up sediment from the water bed.

The images come as Venice has begun to spring back to life this week, with some shops reopening and residents tentatively venturing outside for a jog or stroll.

Under its so-called “soft lockdown” rules, the Veneto region, of which Venice is the capital, has allowed stores of all types to open for two days a week.

Italy’s national government on Tuesday allowed some businesses, such as bookshops and children’s clothing stores, to reopen across the country.

Venice has also ruled that residents can go out for one hour of exercise per day, staying within 200 metres of their homes. 

Masks and gloves must be worn by anyone leaving the house, and anyone with a temperature above 37.5°C remains forbidden to go out.

In Veneto, the traditional picnics will be allowed on the upcoming national holidays, on April 25 and May 1, “but only on private property and with family members,” Regional President Luca Zaia said.

“It is an act of trust towards the Venetians,” he said at a press conference on Monday.