On a gondola to cross the Grand Canal from Rialto to Cannaregio
Virtual Reality is a fantastic way to feel like you are somewhere where you’d like to be. On this website, you’ll find many immersive images of places around Venice, as well as of local businesses where you could eat, drink and shop. But we decided that it was not enough and to bring you with us on a ride across the Grand Canal!
The interactive video you see above has been shot from the Traghetto ‘ferry’ crossing from the Pescheria di Rialto to Santa Sofia, in Cannaregio.
The “traghetti” in Venice are an old form of public transportation consisting on large gondolas without bow decoration, brocaded chairs, and other luxury trimmings, rowed by 2 oarsmen and transporting passengers from one side of the Canal Grande to the other, in the areas where bridges are absent.
This is the only gondola the Venetians of today regularly use as a mean of transportation, as the iconic canal of Venice is long of 3.5 km but counts only 4 bridges. In the past, long before the existence of the “vaporetti”, the “traghetti” were essentials to the local life, especially until 1854, when the Rialto bridge was the only bridge across the Grand Canal!
Many would argue, and so would we, that “traghetti” would still be important in Venice, as they are a quick, affordable way to get around the city. Sadly, if until the 1950s the city counted around 30 “traghetti”, the ones still regularly operating in Venice can be counted on the fingers of one hand…
Did you ever take one? Enjoy the ride!
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![Venice in the fog might be one of the most beautiful things you'll ever see [VIDEO] - Venezia Autentica | Discover and Support the Authentic Venice - Video, Virtual Reality: Crossing the Canal Grande in a Gondola di traghetto.](https://cdn1.veneziaautentica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/gorgeous-venice-italy-dressed-in-a-winter-fog-560x315.jpg.webp)
