“Venice. The official gondoliers’ guide”. Newsagents and gondoliers join forces

Venice – May 12th, 2023 – Visiting a city is a question of chance, but discovering its best-kept secrets is a privilege. That, at least, is the thinking behind “Venice. The Official Gondoliers’ Guide”, a brand new and quite unique publication. The new Guide reveals some of Venice’s least known locations and itineraries, as seen by the gondoliers who ply its waters and canals every day aboard the traditional boats for which the city is known the world over. The Guide is written by the Gondoliers’ Association and published by lineadacqua with support from Terrazza Aperol.

More than just another homage to the lagoon, the Guide makes a valuable and exclusive contribution. This is the first time that Venice’s gondoliers, in conjunction with a local publisher, have produced a guide dedicated to local beauty spots and to the city’s best hidden and least known curiosities.

Venice is a cultural crossroads and a cradle of the many traditions that have combined to write the history of its roads, canals and alleys. The Guide describes the city, its key attractions and some of its least-known places through the eyes of the city’s gondoliers. It presents six itineraries and various locations, from the popular San Marco and Rialto that everybody knows and loves, to some truly remarkable spots that sometimes not even Venetians know of, like the Campi and the route from San Tomà to Santa Maria del Giglio – a journey into the very heart of the city.

The Guide project was inspired by a genuine love for Venice and involved various elements of the local community.

It all began with an idea put forward by the Paolo Romor Law Firm, which assists the Venice section of the National Union of Italian Newsagents. This was received enthusiastically by the Gondoliers’ Association, lineadacqua and Terrazza Aperol and became the “Corner” project, a new and original way to support the city’s network of news kiosks – vital points of reference for local residents – and to revitalise their business with a top-quality cultural offering. Starting today, a first group of five newsagents, located at strategic points around the city, will dedicate a section of their kiosks to the unmistakable orange of the Guide and will sell it in the three languages currently available (Italian, English and French) along with a small capsule of dedicated merchandising.

It looks as if orange will soon be the colour that unites all those who live and love Venice and its lagoon.