Gondola

By Donna Leon

The international bestselling author delivers “a delightful look at the gondola as cultural icon, marvel of construction and object of romance and mystery” (Judith Malafronte, Opera News).

Of all the trademarks of Venice—and there are many, from the gilded Basilica of San Marco to the melancholy Bridge of Sighs—none is more ubiquitous than the gondola. In Gondola, the acclaimed “American with the Venetian heart,” tells the fascinating story of this famous boat, complete with gorgeous full-color illustrations (The Washington Post).

First used in medieval Venice as a deftly maneuverable getaway boat, the gondola evolved over the centuries into a floating pleasure palace, bedecked in silk, that facilitated the romantic escapades of the Venetian elite. Sumptuary laws turned it black—a gleaming, elegant hue for a boat manned by robust gondolieri in their iconic black-and-white-striped shirts and straw hats.

Each boat is carefully fashioned in a maestro’s workshop—though Leon also recounts a tale of an American friend who attempted to make a gondola all on his own. Once its arched prow pushes off from the dock, the single Venetian at its oar just might break out in a barcarole, the popular songs sung by gondolieri.

Please note this ebook edition does not include audio recordings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Mar 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9780802192523

Book preview

Donna Leon

Gondola

For Christine Stemmermann

With thanks to Shaul Bassi and Philip Morre for their assistance with the barcarole translations

Copyright © 2013 by Diogenes Verlag AG Zurich

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Scanning, uploading, and electronic distribution of this book or the facilitation of such without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. Any member of educational institutions wishing to photocopy part or all of the work for classroom use, or anthology, should send inquiries to Grove Atlantic, Inc., 154 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10011 or [e-mail].

Published simultaneously in Canada

Printed in the United States of America

FIRST EDITION

ISBN 978-0-8021-2266-7

eISBN 978-0-8021-9252-3

Cover illustration: Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal): The Mouth of the Grand Canal and the Church Santa Maria della Saluta, undated (clipping) Copyright © 2011 Louvre, Paris / Giraudon / The Bridgeman Art Library

Atlantic Monthly Press

an imprint of Grove Atlantic, Inc.

154 West 14th Street

New York, NY 10011

Distributed by Publishers Group West

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Contents

Introduction

The Gondola as a Paradox

I Think I Could Do This

Taking a Closer Look

The Master Builder

Can a Boat Be a Fashion Statement?

Musica Popolare

The Ships from Hell

Barcarole: Venetian – English

Illustration Credits

Introduction

That Venice is in peril is a fact so universally acknowledged that one of the committees which raises funds to aid in the restoration of works of art in the city bears that name: Venice in Peril . It is in peril from climate change, declining population, mass tourism, cruise ships, and from the various agencies of government which seem deaf to the voices of its citizens. At the same time, however, attempts are being made to control the effect of the tides and to prevent the assault of acqua alta, Teatro La Fenice has been rebuilt, and there is always the compensation of the beauty which surrounds residents or tourists anywhere in the city.

Part of that beauty on common offer is the sleek, mysterious gondola, the boat whose name and image are inextricably linked with the city. For centuries its blade-like hull has been cutting through the waters of the canals, taking people to and from home, the Rialto, assignations, work. Rowing from the back is the gondoliere, once the trusted servant, sometimes confidant, of families, today but another worker in the tourist industry.

Just as the gondola has remained recognizably the same through the centuries, so too have the barcarole which were sung from their decks centuries ago. Like the boat, these songs are quintessentially Venetian: sung in dialect, they present the real life and concerns of the people in the city. Venice once created a mercantile empire, and sacked Byzantium, but its citizens worried about love. The city itself ultimately fell to the invasion of Napoleon, but the Venetians went on drinking too much and longing after girls. Their hopes and desires fill the lyrics of the barcarole, and the music – at times sophisticated, at times simple – carries the listener along the tides of beauty just as does the gondola, from whose decks these lovely songs were first heard.

The Gondola as a Paradox

The stunned response of many people who come to Venice for the first time is to gasp in amazement at the glory of what they see. Magnificent buildings line up in chronological disarray; neighborhoods are connected to one another only by bridges; the Basilica of San