Monday, July 13, 2009

A View from the Rialto - Wedding Gondola

I shot this from the Rialto Bridge.
Standing there on a sunny afternoon is utopian for a gondola fanatic with a camera.

Some gondolas in Venice are pretty beaten.
Some clearly haven't been well cared for.
And then there are the ones we long to take pictures of. Many are privately owned, all are the product of much obsessive care.

In Venice there are a few spots where you can find these perfect beauties, and Rialto has many.

She is a wedding gondola - evidenced by the fully carved deck. They cost more to buy, and take a lot of extra care to maintain, but as you can see from the photo - it's all worth it.

1 comment:

Tamas Feher from Hungary said...

I wonder if those wedding gondolas will also fall into disrepair soon? I mean few people get married in Italy nowadays. Not just Venice, but its a problem for entire Italy.

Foreigners avoid it, because it is difficult to get a divorce compared to the rest of the free world. (The nuptial laws were written to the Vatican's wishes.)

Italians reportedly do not get married nowadays, because the very high cost of living prevents most young people from establishing their own household, so they stay with the family.

Chiesa dei Miracoli was empty when I visited and that was really suprising. I mean which bride would want to miss an opportunity to arrive in a gondola to wed in a famous marble jewelry box?