THE SQUERO DI SAN TROVASO

One of the most fascinating places in Venice is just five minutes from Ca' Macana, where you can still soak up the atmosphere of centuries past: the Squero di San Trovaso, an old shipyard for gondolas. It is the place where the symbol of the city is still built using the same methods and even the same tools as in the past. It attracts painters, poets and writers precisely because of its old-world appearance. Of the numerous "squeri" that were once active, very few are still in operation and this is the most attractive. It dates from the seventeenth century and has also retained its original structure, with part of the area acting as shipyard and the other as home to the "squeraroli". The gondola is built entirely by hand, requires a good eight different types of wood and three months' work. Each boat is unique and each shipwright has his own secrets: doors and windows are even closed during some stages of the work for fear of possible spies

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