Gondolas
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Cloaked in mystery and myth, nothing symbolises Venice more than the gondola.
This curious (flat-bottomed) craft, unique to Venice, has evolved over the centuries to suit the demands of navigating the narrow and labyrinthine waterways of the city. Today, each gondola is uniform in design, weighing 1,500lbs (700kgs), comprising 280 components and using eight different types of wood (lime, larch, oak, fir, cherry, walnut, elm and mahogany). It is exactly 10.87m long (35ft 6ins) and 1.42m wide (4ft 6ins), with the left side 24cm (10ins) longer than the right. Since the 16th century the gondola has always been black in colour. The gondola is propelled by a single oarsman, the gondolier, who stands facing the bow and rows with a forward stroke. The gondolier uses a single oar, or remo, (made from beech) and the gondola's asymmetry in length (which only dates back to the 19th century) checks its natural tendency to turn to the left following the stroke of the oar. The bespoke forcola, or row-lock, is carved out of a single piece of walnut and enables the gondolier to make up to eight distinct manoeuvres. The metal prow, the fero da prorà, or dol fin, acts as a counter-balance to the weight of the gondolier. Its six teeth (rebbi or pettini), or prongs, are thought to represent the six districts (sestieri) into which Venice is divided, while the prong which juts out to the back may represent the island of Giudecca. (No one knows for certain!). Some prows have three additional decorative details, which pair the six rebbi, and may represent the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello. Until the 1930s, the gondola was fitted with a small cabin, or felze, which served to protect passengers from the weather and also from the prying eyes of onlookers. The windows of the felze could be closed with shutters, the original Venetian blinds. A good example of such a gondola survives in the courtyard of the Ca'Rezzonico. Until the 18th century there were up to 10,000 gondolas plying their trade in Venice; today there are barely more than 400. |
Old photograph of a gondola with its felze
18th century Ferro di Poppa
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