Gondolas4All: Gondola rides in Venice accessible to all

Helping others bypass architectural barriers in Venice

Those who have visited Venice, or other historical centers throughout Italy, know how difficult it can be to get around town. Lugging suitcases and pulling strollers over bridges or perhaps touring about in a wheelchair can be trying, if not impossible.  Yet, to have access to and freely move about is a right for all, and for persons with disabilities it’s a right sanctioned by the United Nations Organization.

Still, when a person with disabilities dreams about riding in a gondola the realization of that desire is difficult and at times out of the question. Like all people who fall for Venice’s mystery and charm, those whose mobility requires the aid of a wheelchair yearn to enjoy the beauty of the Serenissma as seen from the symbol of this most romantic and rare city, too. But to have that experience they must be carried in their wheelchairs from a pier to a bobbing gondola by two or more gondoliers. A situation that’s not always possible, and when it is, there are obvious risks involved.

So, sensitive to the needs of these special guests, Alessandro Dalla Pietà and Enrico Greifenberg, proud seasoned gondoliers who work at the Traghetto Ferrovia gondola station, came up with a wonderful solution which will make gondola rides through their city’s historical canals accessible to everyone, including wheelchair users. In 2012 they shared that solution with the Venice Chapter of UILDM (Italian Union for the Fight against Muscular Dystrophy). The idea to build an automated footboard which will safely board a person with his or her own wheelchair directly from a special floating pier into the gondola pleased the UILDM Chapter so much that they collaborated by

participating in further developing the idea from a technical standpoint. In addition, they shared the efforts by researching and financing the initial work, gathering funds together with the gondoliers, and by economically sustaining the creation of the website Gondolas4All . The Veneto Region approved the project and committed 50,000 euros, and V4A-Village4All—accessible tourism—joined this unique project, too. To further qualify the project, twenty-one gondoliers from the Ferrovia Traghetto attended and passed the Handling, Transporting, and Relating with People with Disabilities training course which was organized by the Venice Chapter of UILDM.

Now, the wheelchair accessible floating pier is waiting to be built at the gondola station near Piazzale Roma, the principle entrance to Venice from the mainland, and begin service in 2015.  

HOWEVER, funds collected to date aren’t sufficient to complete the project. Another 56,000 euros are needed.

Hopeful that this important project will see its fruition, Gondolas4All has turned to the public via CROWDFUNDING. Gondolas4All 

All funds collected will be used for the development and maintenance of this important project. For the cost of an espresso or a glass of prosecco, we can all be part of this Venetian journey. A moment of your time and a small contribution will assist others in making their otherwise impossible dream come true. 

Please, click on this link Gondolas4All Video and watch the cheerful video directed by Aldo Bisacco. Then, if you will, take a minute and donate what you can.  

Grazie!

Venice's Gondoliers Row for Research

Regata dei Traghetti for the Fondazione Umberto Veronesi

 Criticism has been laid on the gondoliers' strong broad shoulders as far back as when they began rowing down Venice's beautiful canals. Comments which are often heard spoken in dialect by fellow Venetians—their most ardent critics or printed in the local press and more recently on social networks. Now, with the variety of instant communication sources, it’s no surprise that when a gondolier makes an error the world takes notice, too. Granted some critical comments have been warranted, others not so much and most are brought on by a minority of the 400-plus strong category. However, as with any group that works in the public eye, it is

Getting ready  

quite difficult for the majority of the gondoliers who abide by the rules to escape judgment based upon the actions of a few. Therefore, I think when all 400-plus gondoliers make a grand, generous and straight from the heart gesture that it is only right and proper to commend and applaud them.

Last Friday, April 25, 2014, the Association of Gondoliers dedicated their annual Regata dei Traghetti (a regatta between the 10 gondola stations) to the Fondazione Umberto Veronesi, a prominent and effective non-profit medical research foundation in Italy.

Not only did the gondoliers compete while wearing a striped t-shirt with the words Io Vogo per la Ricerca—I Row for Research—they pledged €30.000 (approx. $42,000) to fund the foundation’s “Gold for Kids” project. A first! Because in the ten years since 

Foundation supporters follow the regatta

the foundation began raising funds for cancer research, this is the first time one group has made such a large lump-sum contribution. It may also be the first contribution to go towards the foundation’s new “Gold for Kids” project which supports the most innovative pediatric oncology therapies and medical treatment available to children being cared for in hospitals throughout Italy.

The first place winners: Traghetto Molo/San Marco

The relationship between the Fondazione Umberto Veronesi, one of Italy’s most respected non-profit organizations, and the Gondoliers, the symbol of one of Italy’s most beloved cities, brings an exemplary initiative to life. A noble gesture that comes from the hearts of what I personally consider to be a noble group of people—a gesture that I hope might serve as an example for other associations, groups and individuals to follow.

Un grande grazie di cuore ai gondolieri di Venezia!

https://www.facebook.com/fondazione.veronesi or www.fondazioneumbertoveronesi.com   

What would Venice be like without her Gondoliers?

Rowing beneath the Bridge of  Sighs

The other day my eye caught a blog post on an acquaintance’s Facebook page titled: Top 10 things to do in Venice (riding a gondola is NOT one of them!). I, along with a few others, left comments; those that had taken a gondola ride in the past disagreed with the title and agreed that, well, how could anyone come to Venice and NOT take a ride in a gondola?

Some of my readers know that I am married to a third generation gondolier, therefore my comments might come across as a pitch to keep my husband rowing—believe me he, and his colleagues, don’t need my help. The majority of travelers who come to Venice do budget for the “once in a lifetime” chance to see Venice from the perspective only a gondola can provide. And though I skipped a gondola ride on my first trip to Venice—I was traveling with a girlfriend and we erred in thinking that a gondola ride was best left to lovey-dovey couples—I’ve since learned it’s not limited to romance seekers but is indeed the most special way to explore the lifeline of canals that twist and turn through Venice.

The Facebook page conversation went back and forth. I made my contributions, maybe filled with more enthusiasm for Venice and her gondolas than necessary, but then decided to step aside when a local Venetian’s comment turned to reveal “hatred” for the category of gondoliers—her reasons kept to herself as she has the right to do. But hate is a very strong word, and sentiment. And if instead this remark was applied to say the restaurant business? “Service at such and such a restaurant was lousy, the food was worse, therefore I hate all restaurants.” I wouldn’t have paid much attention to the comment.

Now, this post is not meant to point fingers at those who disagree with me or who see the gondoliers—based on their experiences—in a different light than I do. I know there are locals who are not fond of the gondoliers. This is nothing new. Even Venice’s cherished Commedia dell’Arte scribe Carlo Goldoni wrote in the 1700s that the gondoliers, a category he seemed to be intrigued by, were either loved or hated. Yet, the Facebook conversation pushed me to ask myself: What would Venice be like without her gondoliers? 

Most travelers see gondoliers as solely a tourist attraction, while many locals see them as loud, boisterous, and “they walk around town as if they owned the place”. Both points of view have a vein of truth and untruth. But I wonder, has either group ever stopped to think about the contribution the gondoliers make to their city—tourism aside—and the benefit a few hundred gondolas gliding through the canals bring to Venice on a daily basis? Without the gondoliers and their gondolas Venice’s fragile foundation would probably be in a much worse condition. The gondola is actually a daily deterrent to Moto Ondoso—the damage made by the wake and the undertow of motorboats to Venice’s foundation. The gondoliers’ presence on any canal, wide or narrow, force motorboats—often too much in a hurry to obey speed limits—to slow down. So, their presence alone helps protect Venice. 

Seahorse ornament on a gondola 

Another situation that involves gondoliers and their city, and has flared up more recently, but hasn’t gotten much attention is that a few gondoliers have been threatened, and not just verbally, by the people who traffic “designer bags” on the street. Not only are these people selling illegal goods, some set down their wares and block the gondoliers’ work stations. When asked to move most do, however some now understand that the city administration isn’t making the elimination of their illegal trade on Venice’s sidewalks a priority and have flashed weapons and broken bottles to threaten the gondoliers who challenge where they decide to “set up shop”. The gondoliers have formally brought this to the attention of city officials, the Carabinieri and the local media, not only in defense of their workplace, but for the respect and love they have for Venice, and above all to put a stop to the city’s decline. Yet the city administration, so far, has chosen to look the other way, leaving the actions taken by the gondoliers—sometimes peaceful, sometimes not—to be brushed off as being “racially motivated”. Don’t the gondoliers, who are licensed to work at their given gondola stations, have the right to do so in peace? Or does someone have to be harmed before the city will address and curb this problem? Doesn’t Venice deserve more respect, if for no other reason than for what she gives to her residents and all who travel to see her?

In closing this rather unusual post for my blog, the message I’d like to send is that the category of gondoliers isn’t made up of angels or demons. They are men of tradition who have families, work hard, enjoy life, at times exaggerate, and often let a few too many parolacce fly from their lips. As for my husband, and his many colleagues who have always shown me respect and kindness, I can testify that they love their city and their jobs, and neither they nor their category deserve to be hated. I think for all the reasons I’ve stated above that the city, and its residents, should instead give them a little support.