Gondola builder’s hands tell story of Venice emptied by coronavirus crisis
- Lorenzo Della Toffola’s hands haven’t been dirty for two months because the gondolas of Venice have been stationary
- Venice, a city famous for being visited by many, at a standstill as tourists are kept away
The only thing to break the silence is the sound of the oars chopping in and out of the water, two women row a large wooden boat laden with boxes of fruit, vegetables, eggs and bread. They take them to the houses of those who are in quarantine, those who aren’t allowed to leave their homes.
The canals belong to them these days. More than a month ago they transformed their three shrimp-tail wooden boats they use to teach Venetian rowing to the curious and tourists, into a service for the community.
In the silence, the bells ring out the hours and have begun to mark the rhythm of the day again. Venice is beautiful. Venice is terribly empty. Venice is for the Venetians again.
“The only good thing about this tragic time is to be able to pick each other out, to see each other, to say hello,” said Lorenzo Della Toffola, a local boat builder known as “The Viking” who crafts and repairs Venice’s fleet of gondolas.
“It hadn’t happened for such a long time, it was always impossible to recognise each other among the throngs of tourists. We hadn’t seen each other for 40 years.”
Every year, more 25 million tourists pass through Venice, home to about 52,000 residents. But the tourists have disappeared, and when I ask Della Toffola to explain the situation to me, he shows me his hands.