Photo Essay: The Women of Venice Discover Boating

Photo: Boating instructor Marta Canino steers her way through the canals of Venice with her student Sara. Photo: Giacomo Sini

Boating has been a pastime for men for hundreds of years in Venice. But during the pandemic, the lagoon surrounding the city has grown quiet. Many women who might have been discouraged in the past are now learning to pilot boats.

21 June 2021 | Dario Antonelli, Jan Petter and Giacomo Sini (Photos) | Spiegel

The old fisherman throttles the motor, then, net in hand, he begins staring at the other boat as it passes by. He’s not the first one that morning, but the two women on the boat are unmoved. “Is the motor pointed toward the jetty?” asks boating instructor Marta Canino, who, ignoring the man, continues to issue orders. “Ciò si!” Sara, her student for today, shouts back – all is well.

Eventually, the old man revs up his engine again and slowly heads off with a crooked smile. “Good,” Sara says with relief after a moment’s pause, looking pensively across the water. “The way he looked at us is the reason I am taking the class. The gawking by the men takes away any self-confidence here.”

The 40-year-old Venetian has lived in the lagoon all her life. Venice is her birthplace and she has known the canals since childhood. Before the pandemic, she guided tourists through the narrow streets here every day, explaining her city’s proud history to visitors and often pointing out the many small boats in the murky turquoise water. But she had never stood at the helm of a boat there – at least not until recently.Anzeige

Women in Venice have taken advantage of the absence of cruise ships and the quiet caused by the pandemic to learn how to pilot boats in Venice.

She’s not the only woman currently gaining her first boating experience. Piloting boats, after all, remains largely a man’s job in Venice. It wasn’t until 2010 that the fisrt woman passed the official exam to become a gondoliera. And even with normal motorboats, which play a much bigger role in the everyday life of the locals, it is primarily men who can be seen at the helm. Fathers usually teach their sons how to pilot the boats.

At a time when even reactionary Saudi Arabia has begun allowing women to drive cars, it is a shockingly antiquated approach. But in contrast to the Arab country, the gender order on the canals has never been set in stone and there have, of course, always been exceptions. Until recently, though, there was no one here specifically teaching women how to pilot boats, and encouraging them to do so. Machismo doesn’t need any laws, says Marta Canino – facial expressions and words can have the same affect.Anzeige

She has stepped up to change that. The 35-year-old is no stranger to the city’s canals. In recent years, she and the No Grande Navi alliance have been campaigning to ban cruise ships from Venice’s most famous waterways. The consequences of mass tourism are well-known: Beyond the masses of tourists, the ships have frequently damaged the wooden piles the city is built on.

Four years ago, 25,0000 inhabitants took part in a non-binding referendum in which they voted against the steel behemoths. But it was only the pandemic that really brought quiet back to the city.

And for Canino, who was just finishing maternity leave when the pandemic struck, it was clear that she had no future working in restaurants. She began looking for a new job and found one working as a boating instructor. Since last July, she has been showing other women how to navigate the city’s waters. And not long ago, she was chosen as president of Fie a Manetta – which she claims to be the first boat club for women in Venice. The club helps set women up with affordable insurance and gives them the opportunity to network. The club’s name also serves as its motto: Women to the fore.Anzeige

Men have also joined the boating club: "We help each other out." — Men have also joined the boating club: “We help each other out.”

Italian photographer Giacomo Sini has followed the project closely. He usually works in crisis areas or other places that are difficult to access. During the pandemic, though, he began documenting the situation in his home country – and found unexpected parallels. “Venice is also a crisis area without the tourists,” he says. “Without the visitors, the city is suddenly alone with its troubles. The women of the boating club have also showed me that there is resistance. They are taking advantage of the standstill to rediscover their city.”

In his photos, Sini shows a Venice that seems almost like a private place with the lack of mass tourism and noise. Marta Canino’s club has attracted further members in the past few weeks. Recently, young men who also want to learn how to pilot a boat have joined the club. It’s an inclusive and colorful group. But there are still challenges.Anzeige

For example, the maps the women work with are often outdated. People who don’t know their way around have trouble finding the way. And this further solidifies gender roles. “Sometimes they show canals that were filled in a long time ago,” reports student driver Sara. “The lagoon changes fast. We have to adapt.”

In the accompanying photo gallery, you can see how the women of Venice are teaching each other to pilot boats and their experiences without tourists in the normally crowded city.

. Marta, creator of the ASD Fie a Manetta, giving Sara, directions on how to set up the boat on the water of the lagoon.

View of the Basilica and the Campanile in Piazza San Marco, Venice.

Even the famous gondolas are moored right now, like these on the Giudecca Canal. Much worse for locals, however, is the fact that even the vaporetti, the small water buses that are the only public transport in the historic part of the city, travel less frequently now.

Marta Canino is hoping to use the project to boost women’s self-confidence. She says creating the club was a conscious decision to facilitate the exchange of knowledge as transparently and fairly as possible. “We don’t hold any competitions,” she says. “And men are also welcome.”

Many women in Venice who made their living from tourism before the pandemic now have a lot of free time on their hands. Giovanna, pictured here, normally works in a hotel.

Boating instructor Marta Canino lives in the old city center. The worries they have about their daily lives are sometimes the same as on the mainland: There is a lack of parking spaces and young people have too few places to meet.

Men passing by constantly chat up the women or stare at them curiously. Like this local man, who is slowly gliding by on a sandolo, a typical boat for the region.

A lack of space in the city meant that it took a long time for the women to find a suitable clubhouse. They have since found a place near a shipyard.

Some of the women are active with No Grandi Navi. The citizens’ initiative has been calling for a ban on cruise ships in the city for years, with significant success. Several weeks ago, the Italian government announced that ships would have to dock at the city’s industrial port in the future.

Fie a Manetta now has around 40 members, including six men. In their free time, the members also take care of the boats they share. To protect them from rotting, the hulls have to be repainted frequently.

Docking the boats is also part of the practice sessions, as seen here in Sacca Fisola. No one is required to take the lessons. Individual lessons cost 15 euros for one and a half hours and do not require that a person has their own boat. It’s a little bit cheaper for people who have a boat, says Marta Canino. “We all help each other out.”

The project, the club organizer says, has given hope back to many of the young people involved. “There are no nightclubs here and few public places. Actually being able to do something is better than sitting around smoking weed, isn’t it?”

The women are currently seeking to expand the club’s activities. They would like to offer boating classes for people with disabilities for the first time this fall.

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