Fresh Hardware

There's nothing quite like unwrapping a fresh remo 
and taking to the water with it.
Yesterday I had the honor of doing so 
with a brand new remo from Saverio Pastor.

I was not disappointed.
It felt like Christmas again.

Tanti Auguri Saverio!

Today is Saverio Pastor's birthday.
And while I don't do a lot of birthday posts anymore
(because I found that I was spending so much time
wishing people "tanti auguri" here on the Gondola Blog),
There are always exceptions.

 

When it comes to exceptions, I can think of nobody more worthy of our attention on his birthday than a guy who carves forcolas and oars.

Here's a collection of photos I took last year in Saverio's shop
on a rainy day in September.

Happy birthday Saverio.
Keep carving masterpieces.

Finished Forcole with fresh signatures.

 

Planes lined up on the runway.

 

A wall of remi.

 

Talking with his co-worker

(and probably talking with the forcola too).

 

 The master and his masterpieces.

 

 My personal favorite remo.

 

 So many tools and patterns.

 

Non-electric equipment.

 

So many remi - all waiting to be put into service.

 

Contemplation.

 

To learn more about Saverio Pastor's craftsmanship, go to:

http://www.forcole.com/

 

Or search his name here on the Gondola Blog.

Like Christmas!

photo by Joy Sailing

 

Two years ago we learned the importance of having good oars.

One of the stronger competitors at the US Gondola Nationals managed to push a remo past the point of it's potential.

 

The resulting "Crack!" filled the air like the sound of a home run being hit at Dodger Stadium.

(read more about that at "The Snapper")

 

As it happened, the oar was mine.

I never forgot that moment (and the guy who barely escaped being hurt after it snapped probably didn't either).

 

So when Tim of Sunset Gondola was making a large purchase of remi from Venetian master Saverio Pastor, I was thrilled to be included in the order.

Several of those pieces went directly into storage in my garage - not to be opened until Nationals.

 

On the first morning, just before the sprints were to begin,

John Kerschbaum and I did the honors of unwrapping those beautiful gifts.

It was like Christmas morning.

 

Saverio Pastor is one of the only remaining craftsmen in Venice,

carving oars, forcole, and a few other items for Venetian boats. 

He apprenticed under the legendary Giuseppe Carli before opening his own business.  Saverio has taught a few carvers as well,

but most of all - he creates magnificent works of form and function.

 

Really, the rowing hardware of a venetian boat is a rare dichotomy:

1. it's gorgeous, a true work of art

     (and many grace the halls of both galleries and museums)

2. it works! I mean really works. Both remi and forcole, when carved right,

and used properly, are profoundly effective in propelling their boats.

 

Saverio Pastor working on a forcola in his shop in Venice.

 

Some of the many remi on Saverio's racks.

Unwrapping amazing things.

photo by Joy Sailing

 

A few different remi in action at the start of a solo sprint heat.

Three of the four remi were part of the purchase, with the blue and orange striped one having been unwrapped and painted earlier in the year.

photo by Joy Sailing

 

A good shot of a fresh pastor remi in the hands of
a gondolier from Coronado, California.

photo by Joy Sailing

Many thanks to Saverio Pastor for such terrific oars.
They are great to row with,
        even better to race with, 
                and not one of his oars snapped.

You can visit Saverio's website at www.forcole.com

See more photos from the shop through the lens of John Synco
of Gig Harbor Gondola at:
"Photos from Saverio Pastor's workshop"

Resting Remo

photo by Cassandra Mohr

A fresh new remo, expertly carved by Saverio Pastor, 
rests on the gondola: ready for the next cruise.

Brandolisio's B-Day

We spend a lot of time and attention on the boats, while in truth,

most of them would be dead in the water without forcole and remi.

The crafting of these vauable pieces of harware are only made by a handful of people, and one of thse guys is celebrating his birthday:

Paolo Brandolisio.

To watch Paolo in action, check out "Paolo Sets a Forcola Free".

I can almost smell that hardwood and sawdust that is associated with any visit I've ever had to a remer's shop.

To read about Paolo's enviable place in the world of remers, take a look at "Carli's legacy".

And of course, his website is now in english.

Happy Birthday Paolo! 

Carli's Legacy

Several years ago I held a Carli forcola for the first time.

It was a rare opportunity to hold a piece of gondola history in my hands.

Giuseppe Carli was a remer in Venice. He lived from 1915 to 1999 and was taught at a very young age how to carve and sculpt wood.
In the old days, if parents wanted their son to learn the remer's trade,
they would bring him to the shop at a young age and he would first watch,
and if it was in the cards, begin to assist. Apprenticeships lasted for many years, but the craftsmen who emerged were second-to-none.
This was the kind of world Carli grew up in.
He was one of the last to learn and apprentice in the old way.
Some have labeled him as the "last of the finest", although that would be unfair to those who came after him - guys who hold him in high regard. Remers of today say that he's the "last maestro of the remeri", and they should know; they all trace their trade lineage through Giuseppe Carli.

Saverio Pastor was Carli's first successful apprentice,
he began his studies with the great master in 1975 and stepped out to hang his own shingle in 1980.


Pastor has teamed up with Gilberto Penzo to produce some of the best publications in the business.  It's likely that many of you who read this have at least one of them on your desk or bookshelf.

A Saverio Pastor forcola, held in the air by gondoliers in Newport.

photo by Rick Rosen

Later, Saverio Pastor took on an apprentice of his own - Franco Furlanetto, who's workshop has been featured here on the Gondola Blog from time to time.

After an intensive apprenticeship, Furlanetto set up his own shop in Venice in San Polo, not far from the famous church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari.

After Saverio Pastor completed his apprenticeship, Giuseppe Carli took on another apprentice named Paolo Brandolisio, who continued his studies until Carli retired.

Paolo continues to fill the maestro's workshop in Castello with the sounds of the hand tools and the smell of carved wood.

The legendary Vittorio Orio, visiting Paolo Brandolisio in the historic shop.

While there are folks who carve a few forcole here and there, and even some in rowing clubs who are more prolific, Venice currently has only three officially licensed and recognized remers:

Saverio Pastor, Paolo Brandolisio, and Franco Furlanetto.


These three guys each have their own faithful clientele, they've settled into their own shops and each has his own recognizable style. 
But they all share two things:
a passion for the craft
and a reverence for Giuseppe Carli - the "last maestro of the remeri".


To learn more about Venice's three recognized remers, visit their websites:
Saverio Pastor - www.forcole.com
Paolo Brandolisio - http://paolobrandolisio.altervista.org/
Franco Furlanetto - http://www.ffurlanetto.com/

And if you're in Venice - stop by and watch things happen first hand.
But remember that they're working, so be respectful, and don't hesitate to make a purchase.  Hand-crafted wood from a Venetian remer has so much more value and significance than a carnival mask or a plastic gondola made in China.


Every day these men carry on Giuseppe Carli's legacy in a way that would make him proud.


Arguably, every forcola or remo that comes out of one of these workshops...
is another piece of gondola history that you can hold in your hands.

Acqua Alta Video in Paolo's Place

Here's a clip showing what it looks like when the sea decides to visit the shop of remer Paolo Brandolisio. 
We see shots of people walking around on planks and in rubber boots, and it seems comical, but seeing water in your home or place of business surely must be an uncomfortable thing. 
I'm guessing that Paolo, like most Venetians, takes it all in stride.  I'm not sure I could be so cool watching my workshop flood on a regular basis.
The Venetian spirit is an enviable one.

"Puntello"

photo by Garrett Budwine

Visit the workshop of a remer and you'll see some familiar power-tools, along with some handtools that date back to an age before electricity was even discovered.  The floor-mounted vise, "la morsa da remeri",  with it's large turning nut has been featured here before (see "Vise" from January of this year).  This vise in the shop of Saverio Pastor, is a beautiful, hard-working, piece of equipment that really gets the job done.

But sometimes the remer needs a little more help.  In certain situations he may be seen employing the device in the above photo. 
It's usually called a "puntello". 
I believe the english equivalent would be "prop".

It is quite simply, a stick with a little padding on the notched end. 
All remers use puntelli.
My guess is that many of these begin as humble scrap, trimmed from a board and tossed on the discard pile, before an inventive craftsman says to himself:
"hey, I need a little something to help hold my forcola in place".
He digs around, finds the one piece that's just right, notches the end and puts a little leather on the end.
Bingo!
"Puntello!"

Special thanks to Nereo Zane helping me discover the name of this device.

A Short Walk Through the Remer's Shop

For your viewing pleasure, here's a link to a nice video clip showing the inside of Paolo Brandolisio's shop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNPNl_ygl6A

Paolo "Sets a Forcola Free"

Michaelangelo has been quoted as saying:
"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."
More than any other quote, I think this gives us an understanding of the mentality of a sculptor.


In another instance he said:
"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."
In the following video, we see a little of that approach by remer Paolo Brandolisio, as he works to free the forcola from the block of wood she's trapped in.



If you aren't able to see the video above, please visit the following link and then come back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV8MVjMd8GE

Now if you're not a gondola fanatic, or have little interest in the art of forcola carving, this may not be the most amazing video clip, but I sat in awe as Paolo sliced piece after piece of wood from the block.
He doesn't present a completed piece by the end of the clip, but in five and a half minutes he brings it to a point where you can see the familiar shape.
With some time and technique (and the right hand tools), Paolo will certainly finish the task and produce a work of art that can also serve as rowing hardware.
In the video, he begins with a pencil-traced pattern, but in a short time Paolo falls back on his instinct and cuts freehand - something you'd expect to see a true artist do.
He does it with such ease, it reminds me a bit of another Michaelangelo quote:
"Carving is easy, you just go down to the skin and stop."

One Corner of Saverio's Shop

photos by Garrett Budwine

Here are a pair of photos taken in the shop of remer Saverio Pastor.
We see the "wall of remi" on one side, with dozens of oars - each with it's own unique story to tell. To the right we see one of the most important modern tools in the trade: a bandsaw. Notice the duct-hoses attached to it in order to keep dust to a minimum. The back wall displays a multitude of patterns, which are used in the crafting of forcole of all different types.

Working at one of the vises is one of Saverio's staff, no doubt obsessing over every little detail of the hand-carved piece he has before him. Tools, materials, and even a model or two occupy this corner of the shop.

What Garrett's camera could not capture, was the smell. It's a nearly indescribable combination of freshly cut woods (of which there are many types), and the oils and products used to prepare and preserve both forcole and remi.

No other place smells quite like a remer's shop - it is intoxicating.

to visit Saverio's website, go to http://www.forcole.com/eng-home.htm.

A Shot from the Shop

photo by Stephen Anastasia

Southern California gondolier Steve Anastasia (a.k.a. "Stefano") shot this photo while visiting the shop of remer Paolo Brandolisio in Venezia.
The place is not only interesting, it's historic.
Paolo has done an amazing thing: he stepped into the very big shoes of Giuseppe Carli (known as the last of the finest) and has succeeded to make a name for himself in the forcola and remo world of La Serenissima.

Paolo Brandolisio's Website is now in English

I have a friend named William Rich.
He's an American who's been living in Europe for a while now. While living in Venice he became friends with remer Paolo Brandolisio - one of the few who still carry on the art of forcola and remo making.
Paolo is a talented professional, in fact I row on one of his pieces nearly every day.
The forcola on my gondola "the Phoenix" in Newport is a Brandolisio creation.



Recently William translated Paolo's website into english.
I checked it out and as you might expect, managed to spend far too much time doing so.
Great website, translated well, for a legendary remer.

Check it out for yourself:
http://paolobrandolisio.altervista.org/links_eng.html

Vise

"It is a socialist idea that making profits is a vice. I consider the real vice is making losses."
- Winston Churchill

Ok, so the quote has nothing at all to do with the kind of vise we're talking about today.
But it really is a great quote, and I knew I needed at least one Churchill quote before my blog could be considered "respectable". Churchill is like cowbell - you can never have too much of either.

The term "vise" or "vice" should probably be explored briefly.

In the U.S. and Canada we refer to sinful things, addictions and guilty pleasures by the term "vice".
The squeezing and pinching mechanism, which is usually employed to hold things in place is a "vise".

In the UK and Australia "vice" covers both meanings.
I have no idea how the rest of the english speaking world differentiates between the two.

Now, before the whole lot of you jump on me for waxing on and giving new meaning to the word "buttercow",
let's talk about vises.
Here are a few photos I shot in Franco Furlanetto's shop of two separate vises.


As the remer works on both forcole and remi, invariably he needs something to hold an item in place while he goes to work with a variety of tools.
A vise is the obvious choice for most applications, and not surprisingly, Venetian remers have their own version.

Known as "la morsa da remeri", this gripping element is hard-mounted to the floor, has vertical jaws, and can be quickly opened and closed using a large "nut".

Often the piece being worked on is also supported or held in place using cavalletti and other impliments.

In the remer's shops I've visited, a vise is usually either in the center of the room or close to it. Much of the work associated with bringing a beautiful forcola out of a plain chunk of wood, takes place while the wood is clamped in the vise.

In order to keep the vise from damaging or leaving marks on the piece, the jaws are made of wood as well.
Through time and use, that wood gets worn and scarred.

Gilberto Penzo has published a number of great books over the years. The book "Forcole" is a great pictorial in which he collaborated with the famous remer Saverio Pastor. Some of my very favorite images in the book feature Saverio Pastor "getting physical" with the forcola in the vise and demonstrating how necessary it is to mount the vise to the floor.

Drawknives

While remers have incorporated many modern power-tools into their trade, they still find certain ancient implements irreplaceable. We've looked at the ascia and the cavalletti, now let's investigate another traditional tool: the drawknife.

I took the above photo in Franco Furlanetto's shop. Hanging on the rack are an assortment of these two-handled knives.
They are used on both remi and forcole. The wider ones for remi, the narrower ones for the inside curves of the forcole.
Without a doubt, the most important surface of a forcola is the morso (the area where most of the rowing takes place), that C-shaped area is usually sculpted in part with the smaller, narrower drawknives.

Remers tend to pull or "draw" the tool towards themselves, which is where the tool gets it's name.
Now in Venice they may call it a fero a do maneghi, or maybe by another name if they are angry, but in the english speaking world it is a drawknife. Many drawknives in other trades may have a curve, but in a remer's shop they are almost always straight and flat.

The "Little Horse"

"Cavalletto".
That's what they call the small sawhorse used by remers in the shop.
This one may be taller than others, but it is still known by the name which means "little horse". I didn't take the time to measure it when I took the picture in Franco Furlanetto's shop. The unusual piece of wood mounted to the top of the main beam is for holding or cradling different parts of the remo so the craftsman can do his thing with the various tools he uses.

Fresh wood can be seen on the floor, each piece waits to become part of something amazing.
A small pattern-piece rests on top of the cavalletto - probably from part of a forcola plan.
Remers typically wear heavy protective leather aprons when they work, but sometimes a little extra guarding is needed. The black plastic piece towards the back of the horse is a good example - no doubt it has helped Franco avoid countless injuries.

A Masterpiece Carved by a True Master

photo by Garrett Budwine
This photo was taken in the shop of Saverio Pastor, but the forcola was carved by another remer: Giuseppe Carli.

Carli was once touted by some as the "last great remer", with hopes that some of his students would develop enough to fill his shoes. Fortunately, that's exactly what has occurred, and the art of forcola and remo making still thrives in a few proud workshops.

Today Carli's work is treated like that of a famous painter, with great values being associated with many of his pieces.

Just the Photo - "Shavings on Franco's Floor"

A pile of walnut after preliminary cuts of a forcola on the floor of Franco Furlanetto's shop.

Ascia

photo by Garrett Budwine The art of Venetian rowing involves three ingredients:
an oar (which we call a "remo")
a forcola
and of course, a skilled rower.

Two of those ingredients have to be formed out of wood.
The skilled craftsmen who produce these rowing implements are known as "remers", and they, like the objects they create, are unique and traditional. The remer's shop these days is a combination of new and old tools.
And while the advent of electric power-tools has certainly made some of the remer's duties easier, other tasks simply can't be done as well with anything but the original implements.

Introducing the "ascia".
Her name translates to "axe", and while she has a cutting blade attached to a wodden handle, the ascia is different from your favorite wood-chopping axe because the blade is mounted with the edge perpendicular to the handle.

Nereo Zane informs me that while the Italian translation of "axe" is "ascia", this particular tool is known also by the specific Venetian word "manera"

The above photo was taken by Garrett in the shop of Saverio Pastor - one of Venice's few remers.

This ancient hand tool, in the grip of a master craftsman, works perfectly when sculpting forcole.

While this post is primarily about a particular hand tool, it's important to point out that it's not the tools that get the job done so much as it is the person who uses those tools.