Venice's long history as a sanctuary city for migrants is under threat

In 2016 more than 181,000 migrants arrived in the country, including numerous unaccompanied minors

In an incident that profoundly shocked the city of Venice, and Europe more broadly, a young Gambian asylum seeker was left to drown in a canal late January, as onlookers stood by. His tragic death highlights the desperation of migrants across Italy.

It echoes the case of a young woman from Côte d’Ivoire, who died of thrombosis in a centre for migrants near Venice at the beginning of 2017. Several occupants had protested against living conditions in the centre, which was originally built for 540 people but actually housed