The gesture is reckless and the consequences can be costly. At 3:30 a.m. Thursday morning, Venice police arrested two French tourists in their twenties while they were in a gondola…stolen. The two men had seized the boat and its oar two hours earlier before illegally navigating the city canal. Their risky navigation, qualifiedunusual“, several residents were surprised, who immediately turned to the police. The thieves were finally arrested less than 300 meters from their starting point, as reported by the Venetian daily. Il Corriere del Veneto.
In the process, it was warned that the owner of the boat was transferred to CNN.They didn’t even apologize, they almost laughed about it. It really hurt me.” he added: Double punishment for the gondolier: the boat was also stripped of the things on board (blanket, pillows, personal documents). Then they were thrown into the canal. The gondola was damaged. The man trusted a lawyer to sue the two thieves, from whom they were awarded property damage and asked for 10,000 to 15,000 euros for moral damages.Gondolas are fragile and expensive to maintain. […] I spend a lot of money to keep it afloat. It’s like touching your wife or daughtersaid the gondolier, who claims he spends more than €3,000 a year renovating his expensive property.
“Touch Venice in the heart”
This incident is not isolated. According to Gianfranco Zarantonello, head of the Venice city police, gondola thefts are even frequent in Serenissima.Tourists have stolen gondolas in the past. One year, some even went overboard in a stolen boat on New Year’s Day. By saving them, we saved someone who was dying of hypothermia“He recalled for CNN at the beginning of last October.
And, bad news, the French would not be distinguished by their example. “Among tourists involved (during gondola flight), there are many Frenchsays Elena Almansi, a volunteer at Row Venice, a nonprofit organization that provides traditional Venetian boat rides and rowing lessons on the Grand Canal for children. Le Figaro. “In any case, thieves never go very far. it’s hard to maneuver (in a gondola) when you’ve never done it.“, he teases.
Same story with Isabel Cana, President of the Venetian Wings, who works with local associations for more responsible tourism in the Serenissima;This is dangerous behavior. To navigate (on the Grand Canal)it is necessary to know the codes that are essential for crossing intersections between very narrow channels. […] Any criminal behavior can cause accidentshe emphasizes.
In general, the scope of this malicious activity is symbolic and goes beyond financial and legal frameworks;By doing this, these young criminals are attacking a thousand-year-old traditioncontinues Isabel Kana. “Gondolas require more than ten crafting. Years of experience and history are hidden behind these boats. Handling the gondola is like touching the heart of Venicehe is painting. The unfortunate gondolier in turn made a sharp comparison.It’s like throwing rocks at the Eiffel Tower“.
Source: Le Figaro
