Gondoleering goddesses teach ancient art to tourists in Venice

But the master craftsman had died. With no-one left alive who knew how to make them, the boat builders had to get the plans from the city’s naval history museum.

‘A dream come true’

“It’s a pleasure to enable tourists to live Venice by water, and explain the pollution and high-water problems,” said Lazzari, in reference to the damage cruise ships cause to the fragile ecosystem and floods that leave Saint Mark’s Square underwater.

Just a week ago, a massive cruise ship lost control, crashing into the wharf and sparking fresh controversy over the damage the huge vessels cause to the city.

“I tell them about the types of boat there used to be, like the mascareta, so-called because it was used by masked ‘working women’, or the gondolas, which were the taxis of the rich,” Lazzari added.

The Doges of Venice, the Republic’s r ulers until t he 18t h centur y, boasted golden, t wo-deck ships which were used yearly in a “Marriage of the Sea” ceremony, which sy mbolically wedded Venice to the water.

Row Venice pays tribute to the carnival city’s heyday by sponsoring parties held on boats in the lagoon on summer nights.

By day, its craft glide peacefully past ducks diving for crabs and disused boatyards transformed into canal-side gardens.

“It was a dream come true,” says Alice Hendricks, 71, her eyes sparkling as she gets out of the batela after her first lesson.

“It was very challenging, it looks so easy when you watch the gondolieri doing it . . . but after a few tries with it you kind of get a feeling for it. It’s a joy,” she said.