Sunday, January 8, 2012

"Monica"

photos by Tamás Fehér
Tucked neatly between the fondamenta and a row of paline, just a few steps from the Rialto Bridge, Tamás came upon this beautiful gondola.

If you take a closer look at the background, in the center you'll see a familiar green awning.  Walk in that direction, and you'll see the servizio featured in the post "Benchwarmers and a Beautiful Boat".
There are a lot of beautiful boats in that vicinity.

Fully carved deck and lots of extra attention to detail also seems common to the shores of the Canalazzo just this side of the Rialto. 

Many of the gondoliers along the Grand Canal moor their boats perpendicular to the fondamenta.
This guy, however, has a spot that seems perfect from a marketing standpoint (so easy to show off to people as they stroll by).  On the other hand, it looks like whoever rows this wedding gondola has extra challenges getting in and out.

Gondolas built in Venice typically have brass straps adorning the perimiters of the trasto da prua (or trasto da prova as Venetians call it).


The straps across the forward edge of the trasto on this gondola read "Monica".
She could be the gondolier's wife, daughter, mother, or even girlfriend.
Whoever she is, she must be honored to have such a beautiful gondola with her name attached.

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