Here are some interesting figures about Venice take from this recent FT article by Chris Allnutt:

• Tourist visits to Venice last year were estimated to be about 1/5 of what they usually are

• Short-term rental bookings as of December 2020 were down about 74% year-over-year

• It is estimated that short-term rentals normally represent about 12% of homes in Venice (this is significantly higher than the "typical city" which is estimated to be about 1-2%)

• Even before the pandemic, average property prices had declined from about €4,500 per square meter in 2018 to €4,341 in 2019 (2020 data is still coming)

• Pre-pandemic, the population of the city was about 50,000, which is less than a third of what it was back in the 1950s

• A 2018 study by Airbnb reported that for every local Venetian the city had 74 tourists on average (wow)

• Being a dominant port city, the city has generally been disproportionately impacted by plagues and other health crises throughout its history

• The Lazzaretto Vecchio, which still stands today, is a small island in the Venetian Lagoon that was founded in the 15th century as a hospital to care for plague victims; apparently it was the first of its kind in the world

• During the 15th century, Venice saw its population drop by about two-thirds as a result of an epidemic

• At the height of the Republic of Venice in the 1790s, the city had a population of about 170,000; after falling to Napoleon it halved to about 96,000

• It's worth pointing out that the "height of the republic" occurred after many great epidemics; the subsequent population decline was seemingly the result of a conquest and not pestilence

Photo by @canmandawe on Unsplash