Stella Gets a New Portela

 

Last year about this time, we were launching Stella - a classic Tramontin gondola that had been used in an expedition around Staten Island in New York.

 

She's forty years old, so some pieces have some mileage on them.

The portela was coming apart in a few places.

I decided that since I'd never built a new one, I'd give it a shot.

 

The original portela served as a pattern.

Kalev and I cut out the new piece, and he slathered it in penetrating epoxy.

I selected an old piece of trim from a retired boat,

and cut it down to serve as top and bottom border.

Everything received five coats of shiny black paint and the whole thing sat for two weeks to cure - first in the shade, and then in the sun.

 

Finally it was time to add the finishing touch: brass.

 

When I was in Venice last September, I picked up several pieces from the Valese shop, and even visited Carlo at the foundry in Cannaregio.

 

I'd ordered all my brass weeks before the trip, but standing in the shop,

I fell in love with this one round medallion piece.

It was an impulse-buy, but I knew there would be a place for it.

 

Stella got a new portela.
It was an enjoyable task to complete, and thanks to the masterful work of Valese, the Lion of St. Mark shines in brass from the center.

To learn more about Fonderia Valese and their shop near Piazza San Marco,
visit www.valese.it

Separated at Birth

photo by Candace Benson

While this post isn't about any of my gondolier friends who are like
"brothers from another mother",
there are many of you with whom I really do feel a kinship.

No, this post is about something much more exciting: chairs.

Several years ago I was lucky enough to add the "Curci Gondola",
known as the "Lucia" to our fleet.
She was built in 1960 in Venice and brought to California a few years later. 
I'm not really sure if she only ever had one chair
or if one was lost in the last fifty-five years. 
I just know that I've wished I could find another chair to match the one.

Early this year we loaded a Tramontin gondola into a truck in New Jersey
and launched her here in Newport just in time for Valentine's Day.
The boat is believed to be forty years old.

Like the "Lucia", she came with only one chair.
After furnishing them both with new, matching cushions,
I put them next to each other, and surprise!
They're almost a perfect set.

If you look closely enough, you'll see a few minor differences,
but I know siblings that look less identical.

Coat of Arms

photo by Tim Jones

Up at the front of the passenger area of a Venetian gondola,
there is a five-sided piece called a "portela".
It sits vertical against the opening of the bow,
resting on the back edge of the trastolini board that's furthest forward.
Small tabs hold it in place on either side, but the piece is easily lifted out to access the front compartment.

Because this piece is among the most prominent surfaces to the gondola's passengers, gondoliers usually put a lot of thought into what will be displayed on the portela.

Here on this portela, guarded by two gold dragons with dolphins looking on, is a family crest.  Another name for this is a "coat of arms".
My guess is that the crest is that of the gondolier's family.

Looking Up

photo by Tim Jones

What we see here is just one of a million classic snapshots 
taken in Venice - each one of them beautiful and inviting.

Based on the clothing worn by the gondolier and his passengers, 
I'm guessing this photo was shot during one of the colder months, 
or on a day that inspired the gondolier to go with a black jacket 
(the standard outer layer for gondoliers in winter).

There are so many other details here to appreciate:
first the sandoli.

Right next to the bow of the gondola is a nice shiny sandolo.

And further back there's another sandolo with a yellow tapestry-cloth seat.

Coming around the corner we see the bow of another gondola appearing, 
and a big blue moto-topo.
Interesting boat: the moto-topo.  
She is the venetian equivalent to a delivery truck in La Serenissima.
Upon closer inspection, we see that this particular topo is one of Venice's UPS trucks. Yes, she even has a UPS sticker on the side.

Mounted to the wall above the topo, we see two of those big convex mirrors as featured in the post "Mirror Mirror on the Wall".

Further over to the left there's another ubiquitous craft: a sanpierota.
Some things have changed over the years.
These were originally sailed or rowed, but there are a lot of outboard motors hanging off the backs of them these days.

Meanwhile, hanging above the doorway to the building in front of that 
sanpierota is another vestige of the past:
The load bearing beam extending out over the water was once probably 
used to hoist and move heavy items in and out of boats.  
These same beams can be seen protruding from the tops of barns - they're great for hoisting bales of hay.

Getting back to the boat in the foreground, we see lots of beautiful details.
First of all she's a wedding gondola, with fully carved decks. 
Tapestry-cloth seating, red pom-poms and three-dimensional cavalli of the horse-with-crown style.
This gondolier even has a striped remo.  Very nice.

A felze is that black hump-like housing that protects the passengers 
from cold in winter and from prying eyes as well.

It is said that the gondola lost her felze when she became a tourist boat.
Understand that this was not always the case - gondolas were private coaches and they were carriages-for-hire.  Most of the people who rode in gondolas were Venetians.  In winter it wasn't important to see the city as it went by.

At some point gondola rides became "the thing to do" for travelers, 
and because visitors are more interested in seeing this beautiful city, 
the felze covers slowly dwindled away.

You'll still see them now and then.
It's usually on display in a museum or on a gondola during a parade procession, but they aren't popular with tourists because they interfere with their ability to look up - just like the guy in the passenger seat is doing.

New Seat Design Gets a New Cover

photo by Tim Jones

While in Venice recently, Tim Jones snapped some great photos of gondolas.
One of those gondolas had a seat we've seen before.
I first posted about this in
The controversial "new seat design"


It's a similar seat to the ones in that post, but a different boat.
There are several differences in parecio.
Sure, those are pieces that can be replaced by others,
but the deck trim and trasto picolo are different, 
plus, the one in the earlier post has no caenelo.

We're looking at yet another boat with this "park bench" type of seat in it.

When it comes to Venetian boats, I'm a bit of a traditionalist.
I prefer the original stuffed cushions with black yarn-fringe.
But I'm beginning to understand the appeal of this new "bench" to a guy who's tired of fussing over upholstery and looking for a more streamlined solution.
Still, I didn't care much for the aesthetics of it...until I saw it with a tapestry cloth draped over it.

This is a good look.

As a side note, the stripes on the remo are unique, 
the carvings on the trasto picolo are unlike most I've seen, 
and that's an impressive scimier mounted on the back of the seat.

Outside the Box

photos by Tim Jones

 

Venice is filled with fantastic boats.

There are many types to admire, but we concentrate mostly on gondolas here.

There are some standard decoration and design parameters, 

but every now and then someone thinks outside the box.

This post is about one such gondola.

Looking at the above photo, can you guess which one we're talking about?

Mhmm. Red seats, varnished wood, gold cavalli.

I have to thank my friend Tim Jones for these photos.

I'm impressed with his eye for things,

and jealous that I wasn't able to see this gorgeous boat in person.

 

Like most of her floating sisters, she's got an iconic ferro blade and the traditional elements we've come to expect in a hull.

This hull appears to have been built at the famous and prolific Cantieri Crea, as is evidenced by the gilded carving on the caenelo.

 

 Now let's look at the things that make this gondola so remarkable.

This is not the first gondola I've seen with red seats, but these are some nice ones and the ropes and pom-poms tie things together nicely.

The gold plated cavalli are fantastic - some of the nicest I've seen.

Ahh, but it's what those cavalli are mounted on that had me gazing at the photo for a good five minutes:

Intricately carved and fully varnished pusioli.

The bancheta (small bench), and careghin (special gondola chair) are also varnished.  It looks like the floorboards are partially finished out in varnish too - showing the beautiful wood grain.

The term we use for all of these items is "parecio" - parts of the gondola which are removable.

A heck of a long time ago, some very important Venetians mandated that gondolas were not to be painted, and because these boats were treated with pitch for waterproofing at the time, they were naturally black.

I'm not sure if it was approved or if gondola builders just started painting the boats black and got away with it.

To this day, gondolas are required to remain black,

buuuut, there are those removable pieces, and who says that they have to be black?

The owner of this gondola seems to have taken full advantage of that wonderful loophole.

He's also incorporated fodra boards with intricate paintings depicting a rowing regata with Venice in the background.

I'd like to thank Tim Jones for these photos.

I'd also like to thank the owner of this boat for 
leaving me with a severe case of "gondola envy".

A Fast Fieldstripping

"Hey guys, we've got a problem:

The red boat keeps winning - by a large margin.

See that gondola with red seats...we need it stripped and ready

as soon as possible"

 

These were the words I shouted early on Friday as we were getting the qualifying heats going.

 

Usually it takes some time to pull all of the removable parts from a gondola in order to get her ready to race. 
After all, not everybody knows how to "fieldstrip" a gondola.

This is what happens when you have a bunch of guys on hand who do know how.

One of the neat things about this series of photos is that while the guys stripping the boat may all be wearing stripes and hats, many of them had just met before this photo.  And yet they share a love for and knowledge of the gondola.

In a short time the boat was stripped, prepped, and on her way to the races.

And race, she did!

There's so much beauty in these boats.
Even when you remove all the decorative parts, the complex curves, the sweeping lines, beautiful.

It has been said that "the gondola is the world's most recognizable boat".

She truly is a remarkably beautiful, floating work of art - even in her most basic form.

The Golden Lama

Yes, I know, what a title: the "Golden Lama".

No, this post isn't about a strange long-necked animal from South America.
I'm also not going to wax poetic about a Buddhist monk that entered the world as a golden child.
The decorative tail-piece on a gondola is called a "lama",
and they almost always have a shiny silver finish - almost always.
This one, which I spottend on a busy day in Venice...is gold.

Typically the lama piece is a non-colored metal.
I've seen stainless ones, and many with plating finishes.
I like to have the lamas on my gondolas nickel plated.

Once in a while we see a gondola with her main metal pieces plated in gold.
In the case of this gondola, the cavalli are not gold plated, they're, well, quite unique.
This is the tail of the boat featured in my post "Barbarian Cavalli".

Yeah, not all cavalli are created equal.

The owner of this gondola went way above and beyond to set his boat apart.
A broader view of the boat can be seen in my post "One-of-a-Kind".

 

He went with over-the-top details throughout the vessel, so we should not be surprised that the gondola was finished off with a golden lama.

 

Other boats with gold elements can be seen in the following posts:

 

"Golden Horse"

 

"Cavalli d'Oro"

 

"Golden Angel Gondola"

 

Nice boat - I'd happily buy it, but I'd never steal it.

Serious Sandolo Scimier

When I first saw photos of the new sandolo in Canada, I was impressed.
Here was a boat that had all the details - a fully carved passenger sandolo.

The boat was built in the Squero Tramontin, and was in fact the first sandolo to come out of that yard in over fifty years.

Roberto Tramontin gave extra attention to the details on this boat.

As I looked at the photos that Lorne sent me of his beautiful new sandolo, I noticed somethinig familiar about the scimier (that decorative piece that rests atop the seat back).

Lorne told me that the piece that rides on the seat back of his boat is
"the first known copy of the Royal scimier" - an impressive piece of "gondola art" in the private collection of the Tramontin family.

I'd seen that scimier before: in Gilberto Penzo's "La Gondola" (on page 173, to be exact), it is said to be about a hundred years old.

The "Royal Scimier".

 

I must admit that I'm not clear on the exact history of this piece,

but Lorne tells me that at the varo, many Venetians were nodding their heads in approval, and seemed proud of the scimier.

 

Here are a few photos showing some of the stages in the creation of this beautiful piece.

The design was drawn out on a single piece of wood,

the silhouette cut out,

and with age-old hand tools,

the craftsman gradually removed wood in small places.

Once the carving phase was completed,

a flat black base coat was applied.

Then a shiny coat of black was applied.

(my guess is that there were several shiny coats applied)

Finally, gold guilding and brilliant blue were added in the appropriate areas.

People look at gondolas and many other Venetian boats and just assume that the detail pieces are just fancy dress-up stuff, or as a shipbuilding friend of mine likes to say "decorative gingerbread", but in many cases there's history behind every detail.

Thank you Roberto - for bringing something beautiful into the world.

Roberto and the Chair

photo courtesy of Lorne Fernhout

Just a snapshot in time, of Roberto Tramontin - Venetian boatbuilder and heir to the legacy of the Tramontin family.  The very impressive sandolo that was recently launched in Canada is one of his most recent projects.
Here we see maestro Roberto tending to some of the details on one of the chairs of that beautiful fully-carved boat.

Tethered Bancheta - Keeping Grandma Safe

photos by Tamás Fehér

The "bancheta" - it's a little bench

(in fact I believe that's what "bancheta" means).

Like so many pieces of a gondola's parecio, this piece is unique. 

Most benches and small tables have four legs, some have more,

there are even three legged ones,

but the bancheta has two legs...and two arms.

Those arms rest atop longitudinal supports in the hull.

This unusual design allows the bancheta to sit as close as possible to the inner wall of a curved boat. With a four legged piece, two of the legs would be inhabiting the same space that the hull does.

The arms of some banchete have hooks or notches to keep them in place,

but invariably, every bancheta can get knocked out of place - and when it does, whatever payload is on top of it will tumble to the floor.

That could be a champagne bucket and glasses, food, or even Grandma.

No matter what's on top of the bancheta, it's a bad thig when one comes loose.

Here's a resourceful solution, spotted in Venice:

A simple length of rope, tied in two loops, can keep the bancheta in place.

Sure, it can slide a little fore and aft (and I believe that's part of the intended design), but it's a clever way to keep Grandma from falling and breaking a hip.

And nobody wants that.

"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.

The "D.R. Crest Gondola"

photos by Tamás Fehér

Our focus today, is on one of the many gondolas in Venice that has "all the bells and whistles".

Lots of gondoliers do things to make a boat their own. 

Some do more than others. 

This guy has made quite a statement with his parecio.

The stainless steel ferro has the initials "DR" engraved in it.

 

The eyes are of course, immediately drawn to the tapestry seats,

but there are so many other impressive details on this gondola.

Take for instance, the decorative piece called the "scimier",

which sits atop the seat back.

Once again we see the familiar initials "DR" in the central shield.

We also see a stand-up-paddler pushing by,
and offering quite a contrasting comparison.

Looking forward, we see a striking portela.

It seems that our friend "DR" has a family crest.

As family crests go, it's a lot more impressive than mine.

"DR" spared no expense when he went shopping for cavalli,

and the arm-pieces would be impressive with just the black and gold,

but their rail-facing sides have a red theme and carry smaller family crests.

I could be wrong, but I think I spotted this boat recently in a Johnny Depp film.

I'll bet "DR" was happy to get that gig.

Nettuno

In May of 2008, Sunset Gondola launched two beautiful gondolas, which had been purchased from gondoliers in Venice, Italy.
The two boats were classic examples of what you'll find on the canals of modern day Venezia - each boat has character, decor, and personal touches that represent the guy who either owns the boat or commissioned her.

One of those two gondolas had a strikingly unique portela, with a custom carving of Neptune (Nettuno) weilding a trident and riding two dolphins.
Neptune - "the god of the sea", is essentially the Roman version of the ancient Greek Poseidon.  There are a few differences, but the two gods are generally viewed today as Greek and Roman versions of the same diety.
He tends to carry a trident, wears a crown, has a beard, and has a physique somewhere between Stallone and Schwarzenegger - a "king of the deep" who knows how to take care of business.
In case you're not familiar with the polytheistic beliefs of the ancients - rent "The Little Mermaid" - he's Ariel's father.

Getting back to the portela,
The paint on the carvings was good, but Tim Reinard could always tell that it could be better.

Portela and trasto da prova show bold use of colors.

Like so many things on the to-do list, I'm sure this one became one among many tasks to be completed, but unlike me, Tim actually did the work, and it looks great.

The restored "Nettuno portela".

photo by Tim Reinard

In fact I'd say that the "god of the sea" never looked so good.
Bravo, Tim!

To read more about the historic launching in May of 2008, check out:
Two New Sunset Gondolas - Container
Two New Sunset Gondolas - Hoisting and dipping
Two New Sunset Gondolas - Dockside Preparations
Two New Sunset Gondolas - Making History and Getting Wet
Two Great Gondolas from Two Great Builders

Flipped Floorboards

photos by Chris Clarke

There are a few logical reasons why someone would systematically flip over all of the floorboards in a Venetian boat.

The person who maintains her may have done so to allow the bilge to dry.

Simply tipping them up in place, with a slight turn will often achieve the same goal.

But then everyone's got their preferences.

Perhaps the floorboards were getting some algae or moss growing underneath, so they got a good scrubbing and were flipped

to allow them to dry.

They are upside down; a close look at the inside ends of the rib notches will attest to it.

Maybe they got flipped over by a drunk boat owner?

Or maybe some kids were looking to play a joke on the owner of the boat.

I suppose the boat was just sold and the new owner hadn't yet figured out how the floor pieced together.

Anybody else got a good explanation?

Tapeto Verde Gondolier - Sighted!

photo by Chris Clarke

A while back I published a post about a gondola with a green gondolier’s carpet called “Tapeto Verde”.

It turns out that last time Chris Clarke was in La Serenissima, he took a photo of the owner of that boat as he rowed by.

I wonder if he still has that same green tapeto.