20 Great Things to do in Venice 11/20 – Buy a Gondola!

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Ok not a real Gondola but the best thing after that. Alberto Penzo in his wonderful shop  at S Polo 2681 sells amazing Venetians boats reproductions, not the tacky plastic ones you see walking around, we are talking about real gondolas! The Venetian lagoon has a well-established ship-building tradition. Couple that with an intense passion for boat making and you have a stunning collection of gondola model boat kits constantly in production and on sale.

Gilberto Penzo, born in Chioggia in 1954 from a family of craftsmen and shipbuilders, lives in Venice where for many years he has been conducting a vast research, gathering and organizing information about traditional Venetian boats. Explanations and direct examples of the last remaining gondola builders (squerariòi), surveys of ancient templates and patterns, and - in ideal cases - the direct measurement of intact boats, are the sources which allow the author to reconstruct their forms and the construction methods used. These have given rise to a series of books, construction plans, models for museums and private collections, restorations ans reconstructions of boats.With a group of friends who share the same interest, he founded the association Arzanà in 1992 which specializes in the study and conservation of historical Venetian boats.

If you are not coming to Venice soon you can get them here

Vini Sfusi...Wines by the pump!

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Where can I buy wine in Venice? It’s easy. You enter the store advertising Vini Sfusi with your bottles ( not always necessary!), peruse the selection, noting the alcohol and the types of grapes used, and then, if possible, taste what you think you might want to buy. After than you just hand your bottles over and the rest is done by the shopkeeper. Prices in Venice range from 1.20 to 2.50 Euros per liter. Here are a few of the shops which specialize in "vino sfuso", most of which I think are still active:

Nave de Oro: Cannaregio 1370, rio terà San Leonardo (041 719 695) recognizable by a barrel out front, usually with a model ship atop, also a good selection of reasonably priced wines selected by near by producers. They also have the following shops:

  • Nave de Oro: Castello 5786B, calle del Mondo Nuovo (041 523 3056);
  • Nave de Oro: Dorsoduro 3664, near campo Santa Margherita (041 522 2693)
  • Nave de Oro: via Lepanto 24D, Lido (041 276 0055)
  • Nave de Oro, Cannaregio 4657, rio Terrà dei SS. Apostoli, near the Giorgione Theatre

Enoteca in Fondamenta Ormesini on the corner of Calle del Forner Very nice place and good choice of wines all very nice. They have most of the time Raboso, Raboso frizzante and Prosecco Frizzante. In season they stock Fragolino

Vini Sfusi S Polo 59 Small shop under the arcades in front of the church of S Giacometto. Smallchoice of Vini Sfusi but great quality!

La Cantina  S Polo 970 (041 523 5042) My Local!!  A short walk from Rialto and Rialto Market in a side alley. Wide choice of Vini sfusi very good quality. They also sell some specialty foods oils, jams, biscuits

Al Canton del Vino: Castello 3156, Salizada San Francesco, Very good choice and lot of wines by the pump!

Enoteca Vino e...vini: Castello 3566 , Salizada del Pignater (041 521 0184, enoteca@vinoevini.it)

Fondamenta di Cannaregio (near the Guglie bridge)

Rio Terà di Cristo and Calle di Cristo (entrance on two opposite sides) also has a wide selection of bottled wines and speciality foods

P.S. the Nave de Oro is not really a "chain" as much as a sort of expansion which started out many years ago as two brothers with two shops, then a third, then one of the first ones got sold, then a cousin got into it, and then one of the brothers moved across town... ... ...