NO image better depicts Venice than a classic black gondola gliding along its narrow canals. And, thanks to new regulations passed by the city council, gondoliers will have to make sure that image remains intact.
In recent years, gondolas have become flamboyant, their owners using lavish materials and gildings to lure tourists, rather than sticking to the traditional all-black design dating from the 17th century.
The increasingly ostentatious decor has been described as "garish" by the Institute for the Conservation of the Gondola and the Gondoliers, a regulatory body composed of retired gondoliers and experts, and with direct links to the city council.
When introducing its proposed guidelines last July, the institute said it aimed to eliminate a "tasteless and tacky free-for-all".
The standardised black originates from a law passed in 1633, by the Magistrato delle Pompe (the magistracy of the Venetian Republic), which was in charge of monitoring "the excess of luxury". The only exception was made for the highest religious authority, the patriarch, who could adorn his gondola with a golden felze (cover).
Link to interesting article and beautiful photos:
Classic elegant gondolas back in Venice
