WOODEN SPLENDOUR

“It all started here” says Andrea Tagliapietra. We are in an enormous hall in the basement of the Palazzo Fortuny, a gothic palazzo from the 16th century located in the middle of central Venice, that nowadays houses a museum. A small canal along the premises gives out onto the renowned Canal Grande. “My father Dino opened a wharf here in 1967 where gondolas were made and restored. He had been taught the techniques by my grandfather, who worked for a gondola builder in the Castello quarter and later for the famous Cantiere Navale Celli. It was just a matter of course that my brother Luca and I would continue the business. But very