Venice lived up to its billing as the City of Water during the autumn – 80 percent of its streets flooded following an unusual November high tide. Thankfully, tourists are now once again able to explore this archipelago without the need for wellies. Venice is made up of 118 islands. Visitors can marvel at the architecture of St Mark’s Basilica and take in the magnificent art of Titian and Tintoretto, but at some point they would do well to explore the labyrinth of 150 waterways and the Grand Canal from a different perspective. There are 433 licensed gondoliers – recognised by their tourist-friendly red or blue-striped shirts and straw hats. You’ll pay £70 for a daytime half-hour ride and £100 after 7pm. But if you fancy an exciting new experience, why not grab hold of that long oar and have a go yourself? Rowing a gondola provides the perfect antidote to art appreciation of Byzantine altar-pieces, as well as a great new workout routine – burning off those delicious ‘cicchetti’ snacks and glasses of wine that are part of that necessary Venetian lifestyle. A one-hour gondolier training session for two can be enjoyed at the Canottieri Querini rowing club as part of a €430 (£370) package, including breakfast for two with a deluxe room overlooking the canal at the Splendid Venice in the central Rialto district. The introduction to the skills of a gondolier is being billed as an unusual romantic excursion or a fresh activity idea for groups – even a hen or stag party. There are 433 licensed gondoliers — recognised by their tourist-friendly red or blue-striped shirts and straw hats. You’ll pay £70 for a daytime half-hour ride and £100 after 7pm. But if you fancy an exciting new experience, why not grab hold of that long oar and have a go yourself? Gondolier Antonio Visentini offers an introduction to the ‘voga alla veneta’ rowing style. First, you are taught how to stand up straight and face forward without falling into the murky water. It sounds simple enough, but for good reason your gondola is initially strapped to a floating platform. The ‘remo’ or oar never touches the ground. Instead the 13ft pole sits in an oar-lock fixed on the rear of the boat. Do nothing and it naturally turns right because a gondola is designed lopsided – so an occasional push forwards is required to move in a straight line. Pull back on that oar and the vessel should turn left. Within a few minutes of pushing and pulling, a novice like me not only discovers how difficult it is to steer a 36ft gondola but notices the strain it puts on back and leg muscles. Yet this workout is nothing but a short, fun exercise, offering a glimpse of the skills a gondolier takes years to master. Antonio, 31, has been a gondolier for a decade. As with most of those in this profession, he is following in the footsteps of his ancestors – his great-grandfather obtained his licence in 1873. Antonio also spent 18 months at the Arte del Gondoliere school before earning his stripes. It’s not just boat skills that are developed at the helm of one of these black-lacquered £50,000 vessels – but the art of romance. During busy summer months, Antonio witnesses one or two marriage proposals a day as he rows serenely along the canals – and his record is five. For me, learning to play cupid is a lesson for another day. Venice is a city in north-eastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islands are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave rivers (more exactly between the Brenta and the Sile). In 2018, 260,897 people resided in the Comune di Venezia, of whom around 55,000 live in the historical city of Venice (centro storico). Together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area (PATREVE), which is considered a statistical metropolitan area, with a total population of 2.6 million. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th Century BC. The city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice for a millennium and more, from 697 to 1797. It was a major financial and maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as an important centre of commerce-especially silk, grain, and spice, and of art from the 13th century to the end of the 17th. The city-state of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial centre, emerging in the 9th century and reaching its greatest prominence in the 14th century. This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. After the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna, the Republic was annexed by the Austrian Empire, until it became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1866, following a referendum held as a result of the Third Italian War of Independence. Venice has been known as “La Dominante”, “La Serenissima”, “Queen of the Adriatic”, “City of Water”, “City of Masks”, “City of Bridges”, “The Floating City” and “City of Canals”. The lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a United Nations Educational Scientific & Cultural Organisation World Heritage site. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, and artwork. Venice is known for several important artistic movements-especially during the Renaissance period-has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Although the city is facing some challenges (including an excessive number of tourists and problems caused by pollution, tide peaks and cruise ships sailing close to the buildings), Venice remains a very popular tourist destination, a major cultural centre, and has been ranked many times the most beautiful city in the world. It has been described by the Times Online as one of Europe’s most romantic cities and by The New York Times as “undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man”.