Recent footage of large jellyfish gliding through a canal close to St Mark’s Square in Venice, just below the water surface, has gone viral on social media.

The the sight was captured by local biologist Andrea Mangoni who said that the absence of boat traffic due to the coronavirus has increased water transparency and made it possible to observe marine life in the center of Venice.
“The flora and fauna of the lagoon have not changed during the lockdown. What has changed is our chance to see them” – “Now we can see 50 or 60 centimeters, and sometimes even a meter from the surface. As a result, we can see animals that were literally hidden in the murky waters.”.
In recent days the sight of the jellyfish was surpassed by the arrival of a giant octopus, filmed in the Grand Canal. The event has been described by marine biologists as unprecedented – so much so that some speculate that the octopus escaped from the Cannaregio fish market or was released there as a joke.