Empty Venice offers serene backdrop for film-makers
Bereft of tourists, stuck in a partial lockdown and suffering its worst economic downturn in living memory, Venice has found relief as film-makers pour in to take advantage of its deserted alleys and empty piazzas.
Tom Cruise led the charge last year by leaping across boats in empty canals for his latest Mission Impossible instalment and the actor Liev Schreiber is now filming scenes in a deserted St Mark’s Square and at Rialto bridge for an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s Across the River and into the Trees.
‘‘Covid has emptied out Venice, which means film crews can work more easily and they have become the only sign of life here,’’ Simone Venturini, the city’s tourism, welfare and business chief, said.
In the 11 months since coronavirus struck Italy 205 small productions including television commercials as well as 12 medium and large-scale productions have taken over Venice as the city’s customary daily traffic of 50,000 tourists slows to a trickle.
‘‘It’s saving the economy, which is down billions of euros, and giving oxygen to the hotels, security staff and set makers,’’ Venturini said.
Tourism dropped by up to 90 per cent last spring and autumn during Italy’s first and second Covid-19 waves, and by 60 per cent last summer.
Venice’s revenue dropped by about 80 per cent during the year.
Other productions breathing life back into the city are an Italian TV drama and a celebrity manhunt show for Amazon.
Sony mounted a huge light show in St Mark’s to publicise its new PS5 console.
Venice has long been the perfect backdrop for films, from Nicolas Roeg’s classic 1973 horror film Don’t Look Now to Roger Moore’s gondola chase in Moonraker, before Daniel Craig, a later James Bond, was nearly killed in an exploding palazzo in Casino Royale.
Now, without the hassle of tourist hordes, directors are making the best of the city. Tom Cruise, for example, has bathed the Doge’s Palace in dancing lights and filmed in lesser-known piazzas, such as Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio and in the narrow canals around Campo San Zan Degola.
Venturini said the city was aiming to bring in more filmmakers, as well as fashion shows, congresses and a new boat show, to help to wean Venice off its dependence on day-trippers when lockdowns end.
The new flood defence has also helped to make filming more predictable.
‘‘We also now have the advantage of the Mose flood barrier, which means film crews don’t have to check high-water forecasts all the time,’’ Venturini added. – The Times