Here's a series of photos taken in August of 2006, by Nereo during his visit to the old Squero Casal, which now serves as a museum by the Associazione Arzanà.
Yes, she's a gondola, but a special variation known as a "Gondola da Fresco".She is believed to be the last original one in existence.
I'm told most of them were privately owned, and lighter. From the photos, the boat looks like she was lower to the water than standard gondolas. These elegant gondolas took their name from their popularity among folks who liked to go out in the evenings, just as dining outside is considered "dining al fresco".
Here's a close-up of the passenger area.
A better shot of the display card on the rail.
3 comments:
Ahhh, superb! This one reminds me of a story about how gondolas came to be painted black. It wasn't always that way. Many of the originals were various colors, as desired by their private owners. Then...
Can you tell the rest of the story Greg?
Hey, thanks for the great segue.
I'll start building a post about it.
Arzanà is such a wonderful enterprise, especially since it cares for all the traditional Venetian water craft, not just the gondola. It's a whole other world...and one which is truly Venetian.
Viva la voga!
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