Picture Postcard

 This really could be a picture postcard from days gone by and as I saw the gondola approach with a young couple on board I thought it would be the perfect capture of a romantic scene from Venice. And with just a quick glance you might think that too.

But take a closer look, the romance has clearly evaporated as the couple are not sat together, while the guy is sat in the cushioned seats his partner is sat up front checking the photo she just took on her mobile phone looks right. I know that is what she did because I watched her taking pictures of the Bridge of Sighs and the Doges Palace as they passed by, she was not sat there photographing the guy.

Now I know that St Marks Square looks great from the lagoon and lit up in the evening it would have been a special view. But it costs 100 Euros for a 30 minute ride in a gondola during the evening so if your reason for going aboard is to photograph the sights from the water it would be a heck of a lot cheaper to do it from a vaporetto.

However although romance had clearly died on this occasion I still think this makes for a great image.

I have only posted one picture today but I will put a few on  Instagram (chipster_63)

Down Time

 

So, today's images sort of follow of the them from my last post in that there is a story to each picture however unlike the last post where the story was different in every picture today three images share the same story while the final image has a connected story.

If you have ever been to Venice or seen the city in films or documentaries the gondola are an icon of the city and the famous gondoliers are just as iconic in their striped shirts and straw hats. The canals in the more popular parts of the city are teeming with them throughout the day and night and during the high summer season the gondoliers rarely seem to get a break. Sometimes however they manage to get a few minutes to rest and catch up with text messages and so on and those moments can make for an interesting picture. I think my favourite image today is the first one, where the gondolier is seen through the railings of the bridge.

In the final shot for today the gondolier is preparing his boat for the day ahead, no doubt he is hoping for good trade that will keep him and his family afloat.

Across The Lagoon

A couple of similar views across the Lagoon in Venice. There are plenty of churches and religious monuments in Venice, I recently shared a picture of a little chapel hidden away in a side street that is a thoroughfare and today I have this interesting post with it's beautiful stained glass which is there to bless the Gondoliers.

I have chosen two views one in colour to show off the soft evening glow and the glass illuminated by the setting sun, the second in black and white and in portrait mode which I think works really well with the combination of verticals that draw the eye in.

Fero da prora

This is such an iconic image from Venice.

The fero da prora is the ornament on the prow of the gondolas and as well as looking nice it is truly functional and the shape itself is symbolic.

The Fero is there to act as a counter balance to the gondolier who stands at the back of the gondola. That surprised me because it doesn't look that weighty but as it curves around the whole front of the boat it is more substantial than it appears at first glance.

A little research revealed that the S shape represents the Grand Canal that flows through the heart of the city, the six prongs facing forward represent the six districts of Venice while the prong pointing backwards apparently symbolises the island of Giudecca and the curved top represents the Doge's cap, while the inner curve at the top is said to symbolise the famous Rialto Bridge

In between the six prongs there are three additional items which represent the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello.

So what I thought was just a nice ornament actually is so much more, I am glad I took a few moments to find out and hopefully you will appreciate that effort.  More importantly I hope you like this picture as much as I do

On The Grand Canal

This is an iconic view from Venice. Early evening with the winter sun setting off to the left and a lone Gondolier plying his trade along the Grand Canal.

In February Venice is not as busy as during the summer months and on previous visits I have seen this stretch of the canal literally heaving with Gondolas weaving between the Vaporetto, pleasure boats and traders. 

The Gondoliers 2

My last post about Gondoliers in Venice was really popular so I decided to share a few more pictures today.

Being a Gondolier seems like it might be a great job, after all you are working in a wonderful environment and meeting lots of people and helping to make their holiday. But there also seems to be a lot of down time. Walking around you would see them either sat alone or in small groups, mostly they would be people watching or doing something on their phones. 

Speaking of phones, did you notice the gondolier in the fourth picture? He is using his phone while navigating his way around the city while the couple in the boat are taking in their surroundings. 

Venice street art

More from Venice at night, a typical shot of gondolas, a quiet back street and some really cool graffiti/street art.

Hope you enjoyed today's pictures