René's old blog

Tag: Canal Grande

  • Gondoliere practise

    Gondoliere practise

    Waiting for the Carnival procession on the Canal Grande at the traghetto San Samuele we enjoyed the view of two gondolieri practising the manoeuvres they need to do the operate the traghetto. They needed to turn the boat repeatedly and fast, to navigate the current and waves the other traffic caused and to enter the cavana safely. They used a normal gondola da nolo, not the standard barcheta da traghetto used by the traghetto.  
  • La Festa dei Veneziani

    La Festa dei Veneziani

    The Venetian carnival has just started, and one of the first events is the Festa dei Veneziani, which more or less implies that the rest of the carnival is not for or of the Venetians, which is also entirely true. The first part of this feast is a procession of Venetian rowing boats through most of the Canal Grande, and we went to have a look. Of course, we should have gone there rowing, but it didn’t really work out at the practical level, so we went by foot to look and take some photos. Here are some of the photos from the actual procession.
  • Google Canal view

    Google Canal view

    Google has launched Street View for Venice, and also Canal View. In the limited space available in Venice, both on land and on water, it was hard not to notice the cameras, which were taken around the city on special back packs and on boats. We spotted this boat on the Grand Canal in August. image image image Obviously, given the nature of Google Street View (or rather Google Canal View) they also spotted us. image image image These are screen shots from an Android tablet.

    On land

    Back in April I posted some photos of the Google Street View backpackers that I met around the city. wpid-20130418_100328.jpg Now that the Google Street View of Venice is live, I can finally see the photos they took of me. I was wearing blue jeans, a blue soft shell jacket and a small black backpack. Here I’m walking away after taking the above photo. image And as I passed her before taking the photo, phone ready to shoot: image And these are probably my legs down there. Somehow they’ve mislaid the rest of me.     image From the Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo there’s just a cameo appearance as I walk away after having taken a few photos of the Google guy. image           image        
  • Working the night shift

    Working the night shift

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  • Ouch

    Ouch

    This must have hurt – heart, wallet and maybe pride.

  • Traffic on the Canal Grande

    In August a German tourist died in a traffic accident at the Rialto Bridge, and there has since been much talk about what to do.

    This video show what have changed since the accident. That is, nothing.

    8:47 am – 6:44 pm. How many boats? Wait for the end. – YouTube.

  • Regata Storica 2013 – the calm between the races

    Regata Storica 2013 – the calm between the races

    Maybe one of the best things about the Regata Storica is that practically no motorboats are allowed. The Canalazzo returns to some of its original splendor, full of slow and elegant movement, blurred reflections and magical light.
  • Regata Storica 2013 – men’s race in gondolini

    Regata Storica 2013 – men’s race in gondolini

    The main event of the Regata Storica is no doubt the men’s race in gondolini, which are very slender gondolas designed especially for racing. The race has for years been a two team match, between the cousins Rudy and Igor Vignotto (this year in the brown boat) and Ivo Tezzat and Giampaolo d’Este (orange). The course must be at least 10 km, it took them some 36 minutes and they arrived within one second of each other. For once there were no arguments about foul play, waves from the judge’s boat or other such issues.
  • Regata Storica 2013 – race in caorline

    Regata Storica 2013 – race in caorline

    A caorlina is a traditional Venetian cargo boat. Originally they were rowed by two persons, but now they’re almost exclusively used for racing, with six oarsmen. Even if they’re big and heavy, with six rowers they’re still fast.
  • Regata Storica 2013 – women in mascarete

    Regata Storica 2013 – women in mascarete

    The main race for women during the Regata Storica is fought in mascarete, which is medium sized sandolo traditionally associated with female rowers. In the last years the race in mascarete had been dominate by the couple Luisella Schiavon and Giorgia Ragazzi. With this year’s victory they have won five Regata Storica in a row, this earning the title of regine del remo, or queens of the oar. They should have been presented with a wreath of laurel for this achievement, but nobody had thought of bringing one. As far as I could hear, their victory wasn’t even announced by the commentator, which just goes to show in how little regard this only race for women is held by the organisators.
  • Regata Storica 2013 – young rowers

    Regata Storica 2013 – young rowers

    The first race of the Regata Storica appears to me more about participating than winning, even if the rowers might think otherwise. Our maybe there were just several races with a lot of participants passing in close succession. There should be a race for young rowers in pupparini , which are beautiful long slender sandoli. There was also a race for children in sandoli or mascarete, and one for mixed crews.
  • Regata Storica 2013 – pageants

    Regata Storica 2013 – pageants

    The initial part of the Regata Storica is a pageant of Venetian boats. Local rowing clubs have some really remarkable boats, like gondolas with 10, 12 or 14 oarsmen, or a peata which is a huge cargo boat used on the rivers. Some boats are from associations that try to promote Venetian rowing like Viva Voga, or to salvage the last remaining examples of boat types that are no longer in use, like Arzanà. Many boats are dressed up and rowed by oarsmen in historical costumes.