Squero San Trovaso - "There's a Hole in the Floor!"

Part of the gondola building and maintenance process requires squerarioli to flip the boat over so they can get to the underside.

You'd think they would do this all above ground, but no, not the Venetians.

They dig a hole in the floor so the whole operation is lower to the ground.

Sure, you could set up planks, and do all your work from higher up, but for various reasons they prefer this method.

I'm just spitballing here, but do you think some old grouchy gondola builder fell off a plank centuries ago and made a new rule from that day forward? It could happen.

With a sprained ankle and a bruised ego, an angry guy with a shovel could dig a hole pretty quickly.

The Note on the Bow

I've seen these all over Venice - small pieces of paper tucked under the edge of the canon or other bow fixture.

The first time I saw one, there was no gondolier around, so I thought maybe he'd left a note for someone in case they showed up before he returned.

Then I saw more of them.

I thought "wow, there sure are a lot of gondoliers leaving notes for people".

After a while I started to see some uniformity and began to consider other possibilities.

Insurance papers?

Vessel registration?

Release of liability if a guy proposes on board and his lady rejects him?

Nereo Zane sent me this photo, and after some inspection, it appears to be a price list.

The way these are posted faithfully, I'd guess that they are required, or at least strongly encouraged.
Have any of my readers read one?
Thus far I haven't plucked one off a guy's bow to get a closer look.

I've thought about grabbing one, but then I get this look:

I can just hear him now:

"What are you lookin' at!"

The Water Entrance

Standing on a bridge overlooking the Rio Fuseri,
I took this photo of a water taxi and a gondola passing by something unique to Venice. This small step or porch was an official entry point for the building on the left; probably it was used both by visitors and deliveries - both coming by boat. On that afternoon it was being used to advertise the negozio, which appeared to be a dress shop.
I don't know whether they were expecting customers to arrive by boat that day. My guess is that they were advertising to people as they crossed the bridge.

Signs

From Venice, Italy to Venice Beach, a sign is often the first thing you see when you arrive or are close to your destination.

Coming in to Venice by rail, I shot this at the station.
Anybody see the sign in the background for the rowing club in Cannaregio?

And appropriately enough, I shot this photo while stuck in traffic on the 405 freeway - an unavoidable experience if you live in the LA area.

Unfortunately there are no rowing clubs in Venice, California (at least not yet).

That "Big Boat from Brenta"

She's big.

She's bright red and white.

She is often rowed by a dozen or more.



I've heard some refer to her as "the aircraft carrier of the Vogalonga".



Anyone who's ever encountered her on the water will likely point out a most distinguishing feature - the eyes.



She is The Brentana.



The Brentana is a peata, an ancient cargo carrying vessel.

She is believed to be the last existing rowing peata.

She comes down to the lagoon for big events, making the long trip through an inland canal system which has served as a transportation corridor for centuries.



Back home in Brenta, the big red boat is the pride of the fleet at the Gruppo Sportivo Voga Riviera del Brenta rowing club.

The Brentana and another club boat moored in Cannaregio prior to the 2009 Vogalonga.

While several clubs in the Veneto have long boats, nobody has anything like the Brentana. She is big and broad, with an army of rowers pushing her through just about any wind and sea conditions.



Even in a crowd of boats, she is easily identified at parades and regatas.

The Brentana with a full crew during Regata Storica.

One of the best stories I've heard thus far involving the Brentana comes from a Southern California gondolier. Tyson Davis, who co-founded Sunset Gondola in Huntington Harbour tells a story of his surprise encounter with the big red boat.



Read "Tyson's 'Close Encounter' with a Big-Eyed-Boat"

to experience it vicariously.

Landmark Derelict Falls Apart

I took the above photo last spring while in Mestre.
The derelict craft which has been a fixture on the property for a very long time has become a landmark.

With a bright blue hull and the name "JOHNSON" on the bow, she has served as a huge planter box as well as a sort of makeshift bulletin board.

Here's a photo I took of Tim Reinard reading some of the bulletins posted there. Or was he contemplating purchasing the big blue boat?

As they say:

"All good things must come to an end".

With the heavy rains this season, the big barca finally came apart.

Nereo Zane was there to take pictures, and has posted a collection of them on his blog.

Zane Discovers the Boat's Identity

A while back I posted the above photo featuring Tirza and Hans of Amsterdam rowing with a group of friends in Venice. I was intrigued by the boat, and I wasn't the only one - Nereo Zane was also curious and took measures to find out the type of boat she was.

As it turned out, Nereo had taken a few photos during a rowing event in the Veneto that included the boat.

Here you see the boat moored along with other traditional Venetian boats.

Flags add to the festive feel.

Anyone who likes Venetian boats half as much as I do should enjoy the above photo.

The boat is owned by a club known as Leobisso da Mojan. Nereo contacted them and reported back:
"This evening I got an answer from the Leobisso guys. The boat is called "batelota" or "batela buranella". She was built by Maestro Mario Busato in Mogliano Veneto near Treviso in 1987 (or so).
She's 12.50 meters long and can be rowed by up to ten oarsmen."

Bravo Nereo! Thanks for the info.
Next time I'm out there, we should see if we can grab two spots on that boat with the Leobisso guys.

Squero San Trovaso - Balcony in Bloom

Here's a shot I took of the residence in Squero San Trovaso in spring. Just like the mountain homes in Il Cadore, the balcony has flowers along it's rail.