Venice’s city hall has recently announced a search for new gondoliers, a profession that has been integral to the city’s culture since 1094. Aspiring gondoliers must meet several requirements: they must be at least 18 years old, hold a high school-level education, know how to swim, and possess a medical certificate confirming “a healthy and robust constitution.”
Have you ever thought of becoming a gondolier? It’s not as simple as grabbing a gondola and pole and punting along a canal. The path to becoming a gondolier is far from straightforward. Candidates must first apply to a training course called Arte del Gondoliere (Art of the Gondolier). To be eligible, they must demonstrate some rowing ability or at least show potential to develop this crucial skill.
“Being able to move the gondola around is the most important thing,” Andrea Balbi, president of Venice’s gondoliers’ association, told The Guardian. “The pre-selection process helps us to understand this, and then they begin the training.”
Training to become a gondolier
The training process itself is rigorous, akin to learning to drive in Italy. Trainees must complete 30 hours of theory lessons, covering the waterways’ equivalent of the highway code, as well as English and French language skills, and the history, art, and culture of Venice, focusing particularly on the city’s construction and water routes.
This is followed by 10 hours of practical training, where trainees learn to row a gondola with its single oar under the guidance of an experienced master gondolier.
Gondolas, which are 11 metres long, were once the primary mode of transport in Venice, used initially by the lower classes before gaining popularity among aristocrats after horses were banned from the city’s narrow streets in the 14th century. By the 16th century, Venice boasted around 10,000 gondolas. Today, however, there are only 433 licensed gondoliers.
Historically, the profession was exclusively male, with licenses passed down from father to son. But the field has since opened up to all EU citizens. In 2009, Giorgia Boscolo broke tradition by becoming Venice’s first female gondolier, and today, there are 14 women in the profession.
Preserving tradition
Despite the high demand for gondoliers in a city that attracts an estimated 30 million visitors annually, recruiting new gondoliers is more about preserving the tradition than merely catering to tourist numbers. “There’s a generational change: people retire and need to be replaced,” Balbi explained. “So we do the training courses whenever there is a necessity. People who apply themselves to this profession do so because they are in love with Venice and are convinced that they are bringing forward the traditions of the gondola and the city.”
Gondoliers have long fought to protect their profession. When Venice introduced motorised water buses in the 1880s, gondoliers staged their first strike. Today, they often protest against water taxis and speedboats, whose reckless driving creates waves that can endanger the smaller gondolas.
Balbi, who has been a gondolier for 30 years, has seen tourism grow and passenger needs change. “You usually find that the young ones only want to take selfies,” he said. “It’s families or people over 30 who show more curiosity about the city and want to know its history and how it was built.”
A recent incident highlighted the challenges gondoliers face in the modern age. In December, a group of Chinese tourists were so eager to take selfies that they ignored their gondolier’s instructions to sit down, causing the gondola to capsize. The gondolier, navigating a tricky manoeuvre near St Mark’s Square, also fell into the water but managed to rescue his passengers. To prevent such incidents, trainees now learn key phrases in non-European languages.
