Venice gets its first female gondolier

Female Gondolier

It’s a familiar site on the water streets of Venice, the striped shirts and flat hats of the gondoliers  expertly steering their black boats underneath bridge after bridge in the picturesque city.

And now, after 900 years, the canals of Venice, Italy finally have their first female Gondolier.

Giorgia Boscolo, 23 and the mother of two, had to pass a grueling 400 hour course, but told reporters that she had no fear that she couldn’t handle the physicality of the job:  “Childbirth is much more difficult.” she said.

The trade, normally handed down from father to son, opened up to everyone when the city of Venice introduced an official gondoliering course in 2007.

During the exhaustive six-month course, students learn how to steer their gondolas and must show a perfect knowledge of Venice’s canals. Aspiring gondoliers learn how to propel the narrow boats with a single oar and how to predict treacherous tides and currents.

Boscolo will now be able to row tourists around the Venice’s picturesque canals alongside her male counterparts after demonstrating that she has mastered the tricky art of maneuvering her 500lb, 35ft-long gondola.

Boscolo’s father, also a gondolier, has doubts about her participation in this historically male tradition: “I still think being a gondolier is a man’s job, but I am sure that with experience Giorgia will be able to do it easily,” he said.

Papa Boscolo better get used to waving across the canal to his daughter. No doubt she’ll be busy. Pretty Tough, indeed!