Memory of water: the women reshaping Venice
This project follows women who are not only preserving Venice’s traditions, but actively transforming them – learning to navigate motorboats, competing in regattas while advocating for equal recognition, building traditional boats, and working in historically male-dominated crafts. We meet female gondoliers, a maestra d’ascia building gondolas, the city’s only female sandolista, and a teacher for lagoon navigation
TL;DR
- Venice faces change from rising sea levels and mass tourism, altering its fabric and displacing residents.
- Historically, women have been excluded from Venice's waterways, which serve as its main public spaces.
- Women are now breaking barriers in traditionally male-dominated maritime professions.
- Giorgia Boscolo was the first woman to become a licensed gondolier in 2010.
- Chiara Curto is the only female *sandolista* among the remaining few who row traditional *sandolo* boats.
- Silvia Scaramuzza is the sole female master boatbuilder (*maestra d’ascia*) in Venice's remaining boatyards (*squeri*).
- Marta Canino founded "Fie a Manetta," the first and only motorboat navigation school in Venice run by women.
- These women are reclaiming space through practice, reshaping traditions, and redefining the city's public sphere.