Floating On Air
Congratulations to Venice’s first woman gondolier – 23-year-old mother-of-two Giorgia Boscolo.
The business has been all-male for some 900 years but Ms Boscolo passed the rigorous course, which involved propelling and guiding the 35-foot long gondola, navigating the city’s winding waterways and predicting treacherous tides and currents. She had to undergo 400 hours of instruction.
The course was introduced in 2007 after centuries during which the trade was handed down from father to son. Two other female applicants failed to make the grade.
Ms Boscolo inherited her passion for navigating Venice’s canals from her gondolier father, Dante, when she was seven. “I’ve always loved gondolas, and unlike my three sisters I preferred to punt with my father instead of going out with my friends,” she said. “I’m immensely happy and proud but today my day starts like every other, taking the children to school.”
Ms Boscolo’s new qualification will enable her to make a decent living. The rate for an evening tour of Venice is 100 euros (£85 / $140 ) for 50 minutes, with each additional 20 minutes costing 50 euros (£42 / $70).
by Andy Moreton
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