Gondolas - Venice: A Travel Guide to Murano Glass, Carnival Masks, Gondolas, Lace, Paper and More - page 32

carry on these traditions.
Prow and stern forks ( ferri )
The earliest gondolas were probably little ornamented, but by the sixteenth century, decor-
ative ironwork on the prow and stern became more common. Originally pronged forks dec-
orated both the prow and stern, and were made of iron, as the name ferro suggests. Some
were more elaborate than others, with fanciful swirling forms or engraved decoration.
Today, it is more common to see a larger fork on the prow, where it counterbalances
the weight of the gondolier. The stern fork is typically smaller or omitted altogether. The
lore of the six-pronged ferro as a symbol of the city's six neighborhoods, or sestieri , is a
wonderful story but one without any historical basis.
LOOK FOR A SIGN
As you wend your way through the narrow alleys of Venice, keep your eyes
out for street signs that recall the historic locations of gondola-makers and
their related tradesmen. Many street names in Venice contain the words
squero , squeri , remer , felzi , or traghetto (ferry station), a potent reminder of
the boatbuilding trades that once kept life in the Most Serene Republic gliding
along at a steady clip.
Passenger compartments ( felzi )
Up until relatively recent times, passenger gondolas were constructed with a covered com-
partment called a felso in Venetian dialect. These compartments were sometimes heavily
ornamented with woodcarving and embellished with seasonal fabrics to protect passengers
from rain, heat, and cold. Felzi were abandoned only in the twentieth century, given that
open gondolas were more accommodating for tourist sightseers rather than for private cit-
izens who wished to protect their privacy. The result is that today's boats no longer retain
the old silhouette of the traditional gondola.