Two Beautiful Italian Women...Wow! That's Amore!! or "The more Venetian the Basin activiti
Boy, were we Ever Lucky to meet these two Wonderful Ladies, Maria and Firenze...
What an Honor to work with this pair! Born in Venice, and currently living in Boston...
...and Romancing Everyone They Meet! Even Us...
Gondola di Venezia has been offering couples and groups an Extrodinary Taste of Italian Culture since 2001 along the beautiful Charles River Basin. Visit their website for details about how you and yours can Melt Into The Evening with Roses, Candles, Musical Senenades, Champagne and Stuzzichino (appetizers), All while you Lounge on Luxurious Cushioned and Carpeted Seats in the Center of the Gondolas, Gently being Rowed along the Charles while the Sun Illuminates the Boston Skyline, and Reflects on the Golden Globe of the Massachusetts State House...
Folks on the North Shore can particularly relate to these Marvelous Boats residing in the Esplanade Lagoons - Arthur Shurcliff**, Famously contributing to the Landscaping at the Italian Renaissance Revival Villa Castle Hill on the Crane Estate in Ipswich, had a Vision for the Esplande which blossomed from his love of All Things Venetian - And the Lagoons and Canal along the Charles provide a Most Appropriate venue for Gondola Rides! We hope to get a ride there soon, and hope you Check Out Gondola di Venezia This Summer!
5 Stars at:
Yelp.com
Zerve.com
Tripadvisor.com
Celebrateboston.com
Mysecretboston.com
Smartdestinations.com
Boston-discovery-guide.com
Wise Marine helped out with some modest repairs, in an old school way, to keep these girls Fit and Trim!
Thank You, Gondola di Venezia!! Have A Great Season!
A small plank repair in cypress...
and a new frame and floor in white oak...
Working in Our "Squero" in Boston...
Getting The Girls Ready For The New Season!!
Let us help you with your Boat Project! From Italy to Your Back Yard!
Give us a call: 978-768-0161.
UPDATE April, 2016: Firenze came to Essex for a little body-work... specifically a little work on her booty...
And we had a chance to build a little community by inviting folks to watch a video on how these wonderful and unique boats are built in Venice! https://www.facebook.com/events/1554757664821445/
Some Very fun gondola info:
How to build a gondola
The Gondola Parking Lot Where can you see hundreds of gondolas congregating together? The Bacino Orseolo just north of Piazza San Marco (walk to the west end of the piazza and take the last tunnel heading north under the colonnade). Frankly, I'm surprised this spot isn't in most guidebooks. Every evening dozens of gondolas jostle for space in a mini-lagoon-like wide spot in the canal, and gondoliers chat while lounging against the bacino's surrounding railing.
Putting together one of the sleek black boats is a fascinatingly exact science that is still done in the revered traditional manner.
The boats have been painted black since a 16th-century sumptuary law—one of many passed by the local legislators as excess and extravagance spiraled out of control.
Whether regarding boats or baubles, laws were passed to restrict the gaudy outlandishness that, at the time, was commonly used to outdo the Joneses.
Propelled by the strength of a single gondoliere, these boats unique to Venice have no modern equipment and rarely move at any great speed but with unrivaled grace. The right side of the gondola is lower since the gondoliere always stands in the back of the boat on the left.
Although this squero is the city’s oldest and one of only three remaining (the other two are more difficult to find, but for directions to one see the box above to the right), it works predominantly on maintenance and repair.
Occasionally they build a new one, which takes some 40 to 45 working days. The carefully craft the gondola from the seven types of wood—mahogany, cherry, fir, walnut, oak, elm, and lime—necessary to give the shallow and asymmetrical boat its various characteristics.
After they puzzle all the pieces together, the painting, the ferro (the iron symbol of the city affixed to the bow), and the forcole (the squiggly wooden post that serves as an complex oarlock) are commissioned out to various local artisans.
- See more at THIS SITE.
** "The more Venetian the Basin activities, the better." is a quote from Park Designer, Ipswich Resident and Wise Marine neighbor Arthur Shurcliff. Wonderful information about the Esplanade is HERE: see page 6.