Spies, viruses and vaporetti : how the pandemic increases distances in the Venice lagoon

The larger territories of the Venice lagoon, such as Burano, Mazzorbo and the Cavallino peninsula, are already considered to form a part of Italy’s most remote areas. Following the Covid-19 emergency and its long-term consequences it seems inevitable that scaling back public transport will consequently reduce the opportunities available to citizens and the regularity of movement within the Venetian metropolitan area. The distances between the inhabited centres of the lagoon and the hinterlands, between the historic city and the smaller islands, will only increase. New adaptation strategies will therefore be indispensable to ensure that these communities will not completely disappear.