Venice, Gondolas

The gondolas are the most famous travel mode in Venice, and the most expensive. Yes, sometimes gondoliers do in fact sing as they row with a single oar, and sometimes several gondolas will crowd together and a professional singer will serenade the whole group. In 1970 we paid $7 for four people, in 1983 they charged $40 for two, and who knows what price could be negotiated by now.

While walking from here to there, sometimes the journey can be shortened by use of a gondola ferry, called “traghetto,” which cross the Grand Canal at strategic points. This is also a way to take a gondola ride for a very small sum of money. As we recount our vacation and brag about our gondola ride in Venice, we don’t have to dwell on the fact that we spent only a few minutes and very little money, for a short gondola junket across, rather than a longer excursion down the Grand Canal.

We find it interesting to study the actions and motions of the gondolier’s single oar. Please note the support (that looks very much like a man’s arm, complete with slightly bent elbow, and an open hand with thumb extended) that sticks up from the gondola, near the rear of the vessel. Depending on the movement desired, the gondolier will prop his long slender oar on the “hand” or the “elbow” of that support, and propel and maneuver his slender craft with consummate skill.

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