During the times of the Venetian Republic, boatmen and gondoliers became part of the fraglia dei barcaioli (brotherhood of boatmen). Traditional gondolas required three oarsmen, with a fourth member of their team doing the on-shore administrative tasks. This has pared down over the centuries to the single-oarsman gondolas in use today.

The profession was very much kept within families, where sons would follow their fathers and brothers into the trade. Until the 20th century, gondolas were owned by Venetian families, so the gondolier would be in the employ of the gondola’s owner. A gondolier came into the profession by raccolto (essentially being descended from gondoliers) or trova (sort-of the equivalent of being talent scouted).

In modern times, gondolieri in Venice must possess a license (there are 425 licenses available from the Gondoliers guild) and possess their own gondola. The path to getting a coveted license is not an easy one and requires years of apprenticeship and a major exam. The results of these exams are still published in the local newspaper replete with “son of…” or “brother of…” preceding the candidate’s name – an obvious nod to the enclosed male-only structure of the profession. This apprenticeship includes at least a year as what is termed a “substitute” gondolier, being on standby in case there are opportunities to cover a shift in case of illness, holiday, or bad behaviour by an existing gondolier. In a sign of progress, the first female gondolier, Giorgia Boscolo, was licensed in 2010.

A hard-working gondolier is rumoured to be able to make up to $US 150,000 per year, which is why you’ll hear stories of people abandoning their university-level careers to pursue a life on the canals.