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Becoming a gondolier: The long journey to riding Venice’s waterways

With their straw hats and their stripy shirts, the gondoliers lining the canals of Venice are proud members of one of Italy’s oldest and most impenetrable clubs. Each holds the coveted gondolier licence, the prize reward for lengthy training and exams, and many were born into gondolier families.

Becoming a gondolier: The long journey to riding Venice's waterways
Alex Hai at the Jarach Gallery in Venice. Photo: Rosie Scammell

Not so for Alex Hai. Born in 1960s Hamburg, he studied film in San Francisco before a research trip to Venice led to a dramatic career shift.

“It was not really my plan…it was like destiny,” Hai told The Local at Venice’s Jarach Gallery, during an exhibit of photographs showing Hai at work.

“A film production offered me some research work and sent me here, then everything turned in a different direction,” he says of his trip to Venice 18 years ago.

“I wanted to see the gondolier’s perspective of the city…while I was doing that, the gondolier offered for me to become one,” Hai remembers.

A strong rapport with a progressive gondolier will only go so far, however.

Hai took up his offer and began training at one of Venice’s gondolier stations, but failed the exam to gain a license.

“Those people who were positive [about me becoming a gondolier] all got kicked out just before I did my first exams,” he says.

“At first, I thought it was maybe my fault, but then I realized it had nothing to do with the skills.”

Hai repeated the exam unsuccessfully and the gondolier’s association contested his suggestion of prejudice. Despite not gaining a licence he began working privately for a hotel, touring guests around Venice, which was allowed legally but had not been tried before.

Hai’s new-found employment caused waves in the city’s waterways, leading to a court battle over his right to work privately. He won the case in 2007 and has been paddling tourists through the city ever since.

'It’s like playing the violin'

Despite describing the life of a gondolier as “magical” and “like poetry”, Hai admits to having “good days and bad days” on the water.

“One of the most difficult things to learn is your physical capability for the day…At the beginning you can get exhausted very quickly without understanding where it’s coming from,” he says.

It takes about an hour to bail out a rain-filled gondola and high winds can make for a stressful journey, according to Hai.

“It’s a very technical affair…you can compare it to playing the violin,” he says. “It’s something very precise which you need to do over and over again in order to get fluid.”

Even after years in the job, Hai says concentration is essential, especially in the crowded canals; in August, a German tourist died after the gondola he was on collided with a waterbus.

READ MORE: Venice makeover looms after gondola death

But despite such worries, Hai says he still loves his job. “The most enjoyable part is being constantly reminded by my clients how beautiful this city is; they always find something new to ask me or see something I haven’t seen before,” he says.

After early setbacks, he says he has now been accepted by many of the Venetians in the trade and predicts more women will soon be picking up gondola oars.

As immigration to Italy continues, Hai muses that the canals of Venice could soon be opening up not only to women but a wealth of other nationalities. “For sure, we’re going to have some Asian people doing it in the future, because they’re living here now,” he says.

According to Hai, to suceed they will need “a lot of training – and determination”.

Editorial note, June 2017: This article was first published after an interview with Alex Hai in March 2014 under the headline 'The foreign woman riding Venice's waterways'. On June 21st, 2017, Hai released a statement for the press, which can be read in full here, confirming that he was transgender. The article has been updated to reflect Hai's gender and correct pronouns.

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TOURISM

EXPLAINED: How to use Venice’s new ‘tourist tax’ website

Venice this week launched the payment website for its controversial entry fee system for day visitors – but how does the portal work and how can you pay the charge?

EXPLAINED: How to use Venice’s new 'tourist tax' website

Earlier this week, Venice launched its new online platform allowing for payment of its ‘tourist tax’.

The move came nearly two months after city officials announced that a long-delayed entry fee aimed at regulating crowds and lessening the impact of mass tourism in Venice’s centro storico (historical centre) would finally come into force on a total of 29 days in 2024.

The city council said that day visitors will need to pay five euros to enter the city centre during the first peak tourism period of the year, from April 25th to May 5th, and then on all weekends in May and June as well as the first two weekends of July.

But, with little over three months until the fee’s ‘debut’ date, a certain degree of confusion continues to linger over who exactly has to pay the charge and how they should go about it. 

Who does the fee apply to?

All day-trippers (or turisti giornalieri) over the age of 14 entering the city between 8am and 4.30pm on the above-mentioned dates will have to pay the fee. 

However, visitors that “stay in one of the accommodation facilities located within the territory of the Venice municipality” will be exempt from the charge.

READ ALSO: How will Venice’s ‘tourist tax’ work?

Aside from guests staying at the city’s hotels or B&Bs, a number of other categories will be exempt from paying the fee, including: 

  • Venice residents
  • People born in Venice
  • People working or studying in Venice
  • Veneto region residents
  • Second-home owners and their households
  • Partners, parents or relatives up to the third degree of kinship of people residing in Venice 

Barring Venice residents and Venice natives, all of the other above-mentioned categories (including hotel or B&B guests) will be asked to claim their fee exemption and book their visits online.

I’m a day visitor. How do I pay the fee?

Though early project plans included the possibility for day-trippers to pay the fee at various info points located in key areas of the city, the charge can currently only be paid by registering on the recently launched portal.

Purchasing the ticket is fairly straightforward, with instructions available both in Italian and English.

All you’ll have to do is select the ‘Book and Pay’ option, choose the date (or dates) you’re paying the fee for, and then insert your name, surname, email address and phone number. 

Day-trippers under the age of 14 are exempt from the fee, but will still have to be registered as visitors. You’ll be able to add visitors under 14 (as well as other non-exempt visitors) in the window pictured below.

Venice, entry fee

Screengrab from Venezia Unica

After purchasing the ticket, you’ll be able to download it straight away.

The ticket will have a QR code, which you may be asked to show to officials conducting checks upon entering the city centre.

READ ALSO: What are the new rules for tourist groups visiting Venice?

Quite conveniently, you’ll have a copy of the ticket sent straight to your email address from the following sender: [email protected].

The email will also include a link to cancel the booking. This can be done up to one day before your scheduled visit. 

I don’t have to pay the fee. How can I claim the exemption?

People that are entitled to an exemption will have to use the same online platform as day visitors to claim it.

A view of the available Venice entry fee exemptions. Screengrab from Venezia Unica

The personal details and documentation required vary from exemption to exemption.

For instance, people staying in an accommodation facility in the city are required to provide details of their booking, whereas second-home owners are asked to provide details of their local property.

Visitors claiming certain types of fee exemptions may be asked to confirm their booking via phone, though this is not the case for standard tickets.

For more details about paying Venice’s entry fee or claiming an available exemption, see the Venezia Unica website or get in touch with their support desk.

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