Venice Boat

For most of the tourists visiting Venice hastily, all rowing boats they see gondolas in the canals are of course just a little 'powers of observation to notice the multitude of different models available. Each boat, in fact, has been gradually modified over the centuries, in order to perfectly adapt to its use, so as to affirm that there are two boats alike.

Currently we surveyed at least a hundred different hulls grouped into a few large families. They range from small s'ciopon of five meters, used for hunting and fishing in the lagoon to the great lugger of 25 meters, not to mention the largest ships built in the Arsenal as the galleys or vessels. A heritage of the genre, that the world envied, it is not valued by us absolutely, in fact not a day goes by where one of the last traditional yachts will not be destroyed to make room for another plastic, but definitely more practical and far more anonymous ugly. The loss of traditions are added then the traffic problems caused by these new hulls, especially as regards the chemical pollution, and to the acoustic waves produced by their planing hulls.

The rescue of these traditions is not only a moral duty, a very good investment in the tourism sector.

To move around the lagoon environment in our traditional boats are still valid, their flat-bottomed fact allows to navigate even in a few inches of water and reach the farthest corners. The Vela "al terzo" allows you to take advantage of the breezes typical of the Adriatic, also the tree can be cut down easily to pass under the bridge. To say nothing of the rowing "Venetian", one of the most unusual but effective to push a boat, taking advantage of all the muscles of the body and simultaneously controlling the direction of the boat.

In our opinion it comes to developing, in addition to the usual forms of tourism, even those alternatives that are fortunately more and more taking the foot. I remember that absurdly Venice is the only city on the water that does not have a rental service of boats rowing boats. The tourist, or rather the more discerning traveler, no longer asks only to be hastily shuttled from one point to another of the city, but to "live" as possible in contact with the local reality with his lifestyle, eating habits and especially in a city-archipelago move around the boat and see the city from the water. The possibilities are vast, and the historical center, there are the larger and smaller islands and the great lagoon with its fishing ponds.

The boats are the most suitable, in addition to the gondola of course, the vogue for all those of the family of sandoli, to vogue and small sailing and nautical camping the topi and Sanpierote, to travel into the rivers the burci, for cruises to the broader bragossi and finally to the open sea the great Trabaccoli.

The photographs below are some models faithful to the original boats. Beside each picture the caption to some explanations of the boat, its origin, and the use of the period in which they were adoperate.

La Gondola carpaccesca is the gondola that you see in the paintings of the Carpaccio, then how was the Gondola in 1494. The form is still squat and heavy, but the transom allows the rower raised the visibility for driving.

That seventeenth century it differs from that of the end of '400 are inserted irons

fore and aft, the Forcole make elegance and strength and it seems that is stretched and lowered. Is turning to approach, in its evolution, to today.

In 700 The Iron Front takes the form similar to today, although with archaic features, the forcola is still not quite complete, but you can see that now the style of gondola now seems quite complete. The Felze closely resembles the nineteenth century.

In 800 becomes the classical Gondola de casada, private houses Gondola, with the Felze locked in his winter version, with the curl at the stern, which makes its first appearance on the gondolas.

In 900 the transformation leads to Gondola current, the Gondola you will see in the Canal Grande, with the seats on the chairs, with Ottini complete with horses, all decked out in all Pareci the know.

The Gondolino racing is that boat that needs to whiz under the powerful rush of the strongest rowers during the races and in the famous Historical Regatta. It 'a light boat and low, with the Forcola reinforced and platforms boost for the rowers.

The Sandolo buranello, originally from Burano island, is much shorter and compact Gondola, with the transom that ends in a rounded shape. The two rowers can row to remain with your feet on the cauldrons, paioli, the bottom of the boat.

The Pupparin de Casada is very elegant in its tapered shape. This boat has two seats on a bench with backrest just beneath the stern paddler, the so-called socchetto.

The shape and size of the Pupparin to Regata remain the same, but are reinforced forcole and the platforms thrust of the rowers.