“Gondola, Gondola!” The familiar call rings through Venice’s tight waterways, hawked at passersby from figures donning red- or blue-striped shirts and straw hats. These gondoliers, and their sleek, seductive boats, have become icons (to say the least) of La Serenissima. But what does it take to perfect the art of passing another boat with barely a centimeter to spare?
A lot. Only 440 gondoliers remain in Venice today—a fraction of the 10,000 who once crowded the city’s waterways. Each gondolier buys, maintains, and personalizes their own boat, mastering a craft that takes years of training, skill, and intimate knowledge of Venice itself.
