Free Gondola Ride

by Kathleen Gonzalez

http://amazon.com/dp/0615123910

After researching these most iconic of men, the author spent a summer with Venice’s gondoliers in order to discover more about their unique occupation, vessels, and lifestyles. Instead of uncovering only objective facts, Gonzalez found herself drawn in to the lives of her subjects: being befriended, getting to know their families, learning their language, hearing the gossip, and being offered “free gondola rides” countless times – some of which carried a price tag not in the usual currency. What results is a story of these men and their boats woven through the tale of the midnight skinny dipping to living a romantic adventure.

Free Gondola Ride is a first person narrative. The book is 235 pages, including a preface, poems, a section on the history of the gondola, a glossary of Italian words, and a bibliography. Thirty photos of the gondoliers and their city are interspersed within the text. Fifty cents of every book sale is donated to Save Venice, Inc., an American organization committed to restoring Venice’s architecture.