Gondola - The "Stradivarius Boat" by dvideira
The gondolas are built under strict rules and using the same material and yet each one of them is a unique masterpiece, a work of art. They are built using eight different kinds of wood (fir, oak, cherry, walnut, elm, mahogany, larch and lime) and are composed of 280 pieces. The wood is still mostly worked by hand. The curved shape of the boat is achieved by bending boards of seasoned, dry timber which are wetted and then heated continuously.
The main characteristic of a gondola is its longitudinal assymmetry. Since 1890 gondolas have been built this way so as that one single gondolier - whith one single oar - is required to row the boat from one of its sides and it will still go straight !
