Other than romantic tours through the canals of Venice: in the 16th century the gondola was transformed into an assault boat that the Government of the Serenissima wanted covered by military secrecy. This is the conclusion of a historical study carried out by Dario Camuffo, of the Institute of Atmospheric and Climate Sciences of the National Research Council (Cnr-Isac), and published in the journal Méditerranée – Journal of Mediterranean geography.
The profound transformation of the gondola from a simple means of transport to a war instrument would be linked to the need for the Serenissima to defend itself and maintain dominance over the territories of northern Italy threatened by the League of Cambrai, the coalition formed on 10 December 1508 by the major European powers of the epoch (Holy Roman Empire, Spain and France) against Venice.
The sixteenth-century gondola, “reinforced, symmetrical, very similar to the Viking-Norman pirate vessels, raised at both ends, was equipped with sturdy sharp irons with a rostrum at the bottom and an ax at the top, both at the bow and at the stern, to go against the enemy boats and break through their planking”, explains Camuffo. “Venice established a river fleet intended for small and fast raids, characterized by boats that could be maneuvered in confined spaces and in both directions (forward and backward without having to turn), robust and equipped with rams to sink enemy boats”.
The thesis of military secrecy is strengthened by the analysis of the sixteenth-century representations of the gondola: these, in addition to being scarce, are very stylized or small, such as not to bring out the new characteristics of the boat. The silence for almost a century therefore appears to be justified by serious reasons of state. Venice at the end of the sixteenth century came to possess 10,000 gondolas, against 400 today.
“Martin Sanudo, a Venetian chronicler, in his Diary of 1509 testifies that after the defeat of Agnadello, light boats were being built in great secrecy in the Arsenale of Venice to sail up the Po and the Adige and make war raids with raids in the Ferrarese. Pietro Bembo and Francesco Guicciardini report that Venetian citizens were also invited to participate with their boats and were authorized to keep what they managed to plunder.
In practice – continues Camuffo of the Cnr – the gondola was considered the new secret weapon that was supposed to determine the change in the fate of the war. The renewed form was well documented only when peace returned, at the end of the 16th century, as it appears in the paintings of Andrea Vicentino, Leandro da Bassano, Girolamo Forabosco, Joseph Heinz the Younger and many other painters. This form remained unchanged from 1509 to the second half of the 17th century”.
At the end of the 17th century the gondola was gradually transformed to become the romantic baroque boat we know today, evidenced by the paintings, from Canaletto onwards, with a decorative and balancing iron in front, a small curl at the stern and a demountable cabin for the bad weather and privacy.
Source: Ansa
I am a journalist with over 6 years of experience working in the news industry. I currently work as an author for Global Happenings, and my coverage focuses on Technology news. I have written for various publications, including Reuters, The New York Times and The Guardian.
