Close your eyes and imagine the splash of the oar as it brushes the water, steering that symbolic vessel of Venice: the gondola.
Through the sheer power of imagination you can plunge into another world and feel the lull of its slow rhythm among the canals and sounds of a bygone era.
Long, slender, elegant, refined: the essence of the gondola. Just imagine the skill, knowledge and sheer effort devoted to its creation.
The “remèri” craft the oars, the “ottonài” adorn the gondola with its decorative metalwork and the “fràvi” forge the characteristic iron bows. Then there are the “intagiàdori” and the “indoradòri” who furnish the vessel and add the finishing touches according to the gondolier’s taste, along with the “marangòni” (carpenters) and “tapessièri” (upholsterers), the “baretèri” (hat-makers), the “caleghèri” (shoe-makers) and the “sartòri” (tailors).
Each one of them works to create all 280 parts that make up a gondola so that just one man – the gondolier – is able to master this asymmetrical vessel, and become one with the oar and the “forcola” (oarlock).
Thanks to the existence of the gondola, all these professions are still very much alive in the city today and the ancient equipment is still used by the knowledgeable hands that guard the secrets of the art.
It is an art that we discreetly seek to observe and admire by visiting the workshops of the masters who dedicate a moment of their precious time to us.
We undertake this marvellous experience together amid the scent of wood and the clang of hammers, chisels and an array of other tools.
In order to delight in this story to the very end, we can only finish it with an exclusive gondola tour, tailor-made for you and away from the canals crowded with hordes of noisy tourists.
