Honeymoon Gondola Ride, Continued

It is estimated that there were 8-10,000 gondolas during the 17th and 18th century. There are just over 400 in active service today, and virtually all of them are used for hire by tourists. The few in private ownership are either hired out to Venetians for weddings or are used for racing. Even though the gondola, by now, has become a widely publicized icon of Venice, in the times of the Republic of Venice it was certainly not the only means of transportation. On the map of Venice created by Jacopo de' Barbari in 1500, only a fraction of the boats are gondolas; the majority of boats in use at that time are batellas, caorlinas, galleys, and other boats.Read more