The Gondolas of Venice

We've nipped in and out of Venice a few times either whilst staying at nearby Lake Garda, or on cruises up the Adriatic Sea.

So as part of the series featuring ships, boats and any other watercraft (not enough photos of rafts yet - sorry!) this article will take a pictorial look at Venice's unique form of transport: the gondola.

They can be found at boarding stations around the main island, but the most famous one is probably this one that sits facing the lagoon just close to St Marks Square.

I'm not sure of the current cost, but the cost is normally for the gondola and gondolier, rather than per passenger. They seat six people, so going as a group works out cheaper, though less romantically perhaps, than for a couple.

From here you can take a number of routes. Although they are a slender and somewhat fragile-looking craft, they do venture out into the lagoon.

But first we'll head up the side of the Doge's Palace and sail under the famous Bridge of Sighs.

This is looking over the stern of the gondola. The gondolier stands on a platform, usually with a bit of carpet to protect the craft. There are lots of different types of wood involved in the making of a gondola and they cost a significant amount of money. This was during our first trip to Venice and our fellow travellers, Kell and his wife Denise, were from New Zealand.

Alternatively, from this same station you can head out into the swell of the Venetian lagoon.

I suspect this is reserved for relatively calm days. I'm not sure I'd like to be tossed about in one of these things, with some quite large boats, water buses, and (at that time) cruise ships whizzing up and down, creating ridges of waves from their bows.

And so, whilst this looks impressive, in reality we have turned to head for the Bridge of Sighs and what you see in the background is one of the other islands opposite St Marks Square!

And so into the canals of Venice. Narrow, crowded sometimes, with some low bridges most of which are themselves crowded with people watching your every move...

Every now and then you come across a pile of gondolas, heading to their designated boarding points to drop off one set of passengers and take on another.

Not all gondoliers can speak English - I say this only because we met up with some fellow travellers who were most indignant that their gondolier could not speak with them. Needless to say these same passengers were not feeling in the slightest bit guilty because they couldn't speak Italian...

Most gondolas have quite a bit of artwork from wooden raised fretwork on the boat's panels to miniature paintings like this one.

It follows that gondoliers are quite proud and protective of their craft. We were on this one during our second visit and a young girl put her feet up on the exquisitely embroidered seat cushion, bringing a sharp rebuke from the gondolier. I couldn't blame him - well maybe for the glare he gave me because he thought I was her father, but she was travelling with her mother alone...

A gondola about to disappear under one of the many bridges. Some of these are a bit strange - you expect a bridge to lead from a street on one side of a canal to a continuation of the street on the other side, but some just go into the entrance of a shop and you have to turn back!

As you can tell from this one, space on the canals is at a premium and not all canal users are in a craft as narrow as a gondola!

Traffic jams can be common and it is amazing how easily the gondoliers steer their long craft around and between each other with just a single long oar.

The other tool in their trade is to scoot against the wall of the canal with a spare foot. By which I mean the one they are not resting their weight on... they don't literally have a spare foot.

Whilst on the canals there are some lovely little architectural features to look out for. Iron grill work on windows, doorways and private moorings, bridges and all sorts of things.

"Duck!!!" How they manage to avoid banging their heads day in and day out is a mystery. Don't look backwards when approaching a bridge is a good maxim!

Whoops! Traffic jam! You do get them. It's not only gondolas or motor boats using the canals, all manner of goods have to be delivered this way as well so there are the occasional large barges and sometimes it can take several minutes to get around the next corner.

Coming around one corner, the canal joins a wider thoroughfare and we have reached the Grand Canal.

Ahead we can see the Rialto Bridge. This is the second most popular tourist spot after St Marks Square and the narrow streets between the two are furnished with plenty of direction signs pointing one way to Rialto and the other to San Marco.

There is another large gondola station here where you can pick up a ride in the shadow of the bridge.

In between trips the gondoliers can chat to friends and grab a coffee from one of the many cafes along the stretch of the canal.

The view from the Rialto Bridge looking further up the Grand Canal.

Ships and Boats Index

Venice With Wet Feet...

Monday 24 September 2018. We sail into Venice. We leave the ship directly into a covered walkway leading into the Italian dockside customs. Then we buy tickets for the local water bus to St Mark's Square. "Will it be flooded?" someone asks. "Well, we have been here five times before and we've never seen it flooded," I say, truthfully but perhaps a little prematurely...

The unmistakeable and familiar sight of the Doges Palace and St Mark's Basilica. The cafes are fairly exclusive here...

The major buildings of the square are covered in posts from earlier visits. I always like a stroll round the arcades. If Miss Franny makes appreciative noises at any shop window it's best to put on a bit of a forced stroll if you know what I mean...

There are a couple of these tiny cafe rooms. The tables all bear a reserved sign.

These are what many come to Venice to see. There are around four hundred gondolas in Venice as opposed to centuries gone by when there were thousands. Before the 20th century many had covered cabins for passengers with windows having shutters with louvred slats - hence Venetian blinds...

You should do this in any large city but especially in Venice. Look up! You will be rewarded many times by many beautiful carvings, statues and architectural features. I was spellbound right up to the moment when we reached the steps up to a bridge over a canal and I tripped up. Ah yes... look up occasionally!

Each time we are in Venice we try to find some place we haven't been before. Usually by finding new routes between major sights but having now been six times, we may have to venture away from these in future! This time we found a free music museum and went inside to look at violins, contrabasses and mandolins from 500 years ago.

We ventured down a couple of dead ends leading to private gates and necessitating U-turns, but inevitably we found ourselves eventually at the Grand Canal.

We have our favourite cafe at the foot of the Rialto Bridge, which does our beloved latte machiatto and always has a tempting selection of hand-made sandwiches. Moreover they profess to understand my attempts to speak Italian and so have earned my undying love at least until some future point when they might say "what was that???"

Ooh! This caught my eye! A guitar made of Murano glass! It has real strings - but were the pickups real pickups or more glass? And I must admit my first thought was not "How much does it cost?" (enough not to display the price ticket) but "How much would it weigh?" I'm not sure I could wear that around my neck for hours on end!

The Rialto Bridge is, with St Mark's Square and the Bridge of Sighs, one of Venice's major attractions. It is the latest of a number of bridges on this site, and dates from 1591. Oh... well done, that young lady on the right... Nice gum bubble!

Looking up! Just at this point there are far too many people pressed against you for you actually to fall over anyway. Keep focussed on the pressure of your pockets and grip on your valuables!

We return to St Marks... Square... Oh... there's water, there's crowds milling about unwilling to paddle. There's crowds paddling. There are police officers herding people onto a far too narrow walkway expecting single-file traffic in each direction. With the unrelenting pressure of people being forced onto each end, idiots in the middle are trying to stop to take photos. I just pointed the camera without even looking at it and clicked as I walked.

"Uno oro!" said a news vendor, throwing his arms up in exasperation at my question that he must have heard a million times. So, one hour at high tide. Nothing to see here, keep moving...

We caught a water bus back well before the crowds would leave us panicking that the next boat would be the last that the ship would wait for. Then a relaxing hour before we gathered on the Promenade Deck on Deck 6 to watch the sail away.

I actually took this from the windows of the dining room as we were eating dinner.

Songs tonight included Creedence Clearwater's classic Bad Moon Rising and Herman's Hermits' sing-a-long favourite I'm Into Something Good.

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Through Venice Streets And Waterways

Monday 16 October 2017. In the last article we walked through Venice to the Rialto Bridge. In this one we'll take a look at and from the bridge then head back to St Mark's Square and the waterfront before returning to the Thomson Dream and sailing out through the lagoon.

The Rialto Bridge was built in 1591 to the designs of the appropriately named Antonio da Ponte. The high single arch was considered so daring and ambitious that other architects scoffed that it was bound to fall. It hasn't done yet. The stone bridge replaced a wooden one of 1255. This had several piers supporting the structure with twin drawbridges at the centre that could be opened to allow tall ships to pass. It too had shops along both sides of the central footpath over the bridge whose rents helped pay for the necessary maintenance. This one though had collapsed due to a large crowd watching a boat parade in 1444 and again in 1524. The earliest bridge was a pontoon bridge of 1181.

You must be patient to get a spot at the parapet to take photos over the side of the bridge. There will be several hundreds of people wanting to do the same!

And the other side! Miss Franny by now had left me to go look round the market and shops at the foot of the bridge.

One of the shop windows of a shop actually on the bridge. This sold pens made of Murano glass. I very seldom write with a pen these days which I think is a shame. I used to especially like writing with a fountain pen, but with central heating and days of non-use I find that cartridges are inevitably empty even if I've only used the pen once or twice since fitting a new cartridge. I do have a few old dip pens though.

I find Miss Franny without any bother and we decide to head back to St Mark's Square by a more direct route - though not worrying if we stray from any path we have taken before. It's no problem finding your way between these two most popular of Venetian sites as all you need do is follow signs for either Rialto or S. Marco.

Down through the narrow streets are many tempting shop windows. Here's one with a display of Murano glass sculpture. Think of the fun those airport workers will have with your case, loading it onto the plane for your trip home... Best to have the shop send large pieces by separate carrier!

We come into St Mark's Square and pass an archway between St Mark's Basilica and the Doges' Palace. A Doge is the equivalent to our Duke, so these were very high-ranking rulers. The winged lion is the symbol of Venice and you will find many examples of it in St Mark's Square and indeed all over the Mediterranean as Venice had one of the largest navies in Medieval times. The winged lion can be seen in various parts of Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and elsewhere.

Here is another over the balcony of the Doges' Palace that faces onto St Mark's Square.

We turn at the waterfront and head along the rows of shops and stalls in the never-ending search for fridge magnets. We now have a row of eighteen fridges just to hold them all... I'm thinking of knocking some of them together to make a cool haven in times of very hot weather. But then again, how often do we get very hot weather in the UK...?

The covered walkway along the front of the Doges' Palace. It is a seriously striking building.

At the point where St Mark's Square comes out onto the waterfront is another Gondala point. Perhaps the most lucrative point for the Gondoliers. We heard one couple being quoted 300 Euros for a trip - but in fairness we didn't hear where they wanted to go! You will also pay extra for a singing gondolier. Especially one with an orchestra in tow...

St Mark's Bell Tower or Campanile. It reaches 323 feet (98.6 metres) and has been in this form since 1514, though it has been rebuilt since following a disastrous collapse in 1902 just a few days after a crack appeared in the north face. Miraculously the only death was that of the caretaker's cat. The first tower on this site was built in 912 and the present one was finished exactly 1000 years later.

We carried on past St Mark's Square towards the terminal for our waterbus back to the cruise terminal. This presented us with further fridge magnet possibilities!

We returned to the ship and spent the afternoon talking to people we had met during the week. We came back up to the Promenade Deck to watch us sail out and found that the fog was beginning to come down again.

By the time we reached St Mark's Square it was starting to go dark, though as yet only a few lights have been switched on. Never having seen Venice by night it would have been nice to see it all lit up. Thomson Dream sails out through the Venetian Lagoon and back down the Adriatic Sea. For the next two days we will be calling in at ports in Croatia.

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