A Gondola

Today I watched a documentary on Discovery channel about a Gondola. Such a fascinating boat. The shape, the design and the construction is so unique and complicated but there are great reasons behind it.

"First of all, it's a symbol of Venice, an elegant black boat that can be driven easily with a single oar by one man or one... woman?

...the gondolier stands up and turns to the direction of movement: this is called "voga alla veneziana", rowing Venetian style. The oar is supported by the characteristic "forcola", made from a single piece of walnut, like an arm folded at the elbow.

Eleven metres in length, 600 kilos in weight, made with eight different kinds of wood in 280 pieces (the only elements in metal are the "iron" of the head and the "risso" of the stern), the gondola is asymmetric: the left side is larger than the right by 24 cm. The asymmetry makes it inclined on one side. The bottom is flat, so that the gondola can navigate in shallow water, only a few cms. deep.

The iron of the gondola head, used to gain stability by counter-balancing the gondolier's weight, is a mini-map of Venice: the six strips called "pettini" (comb) represent the six "sestieri" (quarters); an additional long strip represents Giudecca Island; the double "S" bending represents the Grand Canal; on top is a stylized dogal horn and, under that, a lunette representing the Rialto bridge."

You can read more about it at Venice Word.

According to the documentary you need a license to be a gondolier. You can take an exam only once a year. There will be 5 examiners, who are also a gondolier, sitting one the boat. There are about 400 gondoliers at the moment.