THE GONDOLIER'S FIGURE

In the past, some writers tended to describe the gondolier as a pretender and a cheater; other said he was sly, violent, hypocritical and submissive. More recent texts refer quite an opposite view and exalt the figure of the gondolier considering him as a friendly and loyal person, true-hearted, funny and endowed with the typical Venetian mirth, both clever and easy-going; a skilful worker, thus confirming what he was said to be in 1500: "This man is always ready to be of service to the inhabitants, any time of the day, in the night, in the rain or in the wind, when it is cold and when it is hot...”.

Carlo Goldoni and Giacinto Gallina have provided the true gondolier in their works. In Goldoni's plays the figure of the ‘vecio gondolier de casada’ (old family gondolier), a faithful and dumb guardian of the secrets of the family he works for.

On the other hand, Gallina, in 1855, writes: “Gondoliers were the most special class among the people who used to approach masters, since they carried them from one place to another on a boat, without any other servant, they also announced visits, brought news, were allowed  to listen to secrets, that is why they were ranked as above common people. The frank loyalty of the faithful character, the formality, the fine understanding they developed through their office, explain why they were so dear and welcomed to the wealthy families who regretted their death a lot ”.

Several incidents, between reality and legend, can help to make up the figure of the gondolier. Giacinto Gallina adds: “A gondolier at the time of the Republic, while his master was publicly blaming his lady for her suspected unfaithfulness, raised a lantern close to his master's eyes and blew it out, that well accounts for the good action of the gondolier”.

The first article of the code of the ‘Pope’, i.e. Venice gondolier, prescribes to keep a gentlemanly dignity while rowing, the so-called 'vogar bel bello', in other words, rowing soberly and quietly. An episode can help to understand the figure of the gondolier: the Russian Naumow, after killing count Kamarowski, trying to go away with it stepped onto a gondola. Since he didn't manage to have the gondolier speed up, he waved a 100-Lira banknote in his face; the device must have been convincing since the former managed to catch the train on which he was later arrested.

The sensitivity and sobriety of the gondolier is well reported by an anonymous writer in the following episode which took place in 1912 in a café while the war between Italy and Turkey was on: "An unskilled worker came in announcing the victory of our soldiers and the joy in the Italians' faces could be seen clearly; but, among them, a gondolier, though happy, made them notice how, in the café, there appened to be three men wearing a "fez", nobody knows if they were Turkish, however, the gondolier, doubtful, said with discretion: Do not say too much, it is not worth offending them".

Present days' gondolier has changed, the gondoliers who used to call each other from opposite banks singing do not exist any longer, fewer and fewer bow forward and can tell either in German, English or homemade French, the history and features of famous palaces looking on the Grand Canal or under a famous bridge. The tradition of assigning nicknames among colleagues is unaltered, though: Bocaeto (small pot), Cana (pipe), Caneoni (type of Italian pasta), Cioci, Feiceto (happy), Fiaschetto (small flask), Forcheton (big fork), Magnamosche (fly eater), Nero (black), Pagnoca (round loaf), Panduro (stale bread), Pipa (smoking pipe), Scuciareto (tea-spoon), Strigheta (little witch), Vusavè (free translation from French 'vous-avez') and many others; they are used to identify the subject rather than the real name and surname of each of them.

Lastly this is how the vernacular poet 'Rafa', real name Raffaello Michieli, describes a quarrel between gondoliers; it is further evidence of their temper.