A gondola can refer to a thin boat used on Venetian canals, an aerial lift for transportation or viewing, or the basket under a hot air balloon. Gondolas are designed to be rowed with a single oar and can carry up to six people. Gondolas are traditionally painted black and are a popular mode of transportation in Venice. A gondola lift is a cable car system used in ski resorts and scenic areas.
The term gondola can refer to a number of different things, each connected only by the general meaning of a ship used to transport people. The most common use of the word gondola is to mean a thin boat, usually associated with Venetian canals. A gondola can also refer to an aerial lift, a small cabin carried through the air on a steel cable, for viewing an area from above or for transportation over difficult terrain such as deep snow at ski resorts. Finally, a gondola is the basket under a hot air balloon in which passengers and cargo are carried.
While gondolas aren’t the only type of vessel used on the canals of Venice, they are the best known. The gondolas are approximately 36 feet (11 m) long and only 5 feet (1.5 m) wide. The gondolas curve slightly to the right, instead of being symmetrical like most boats, to compensate for the fact that they are rowed with a single oar. This balance allows the gondola to travel in a straight line even if you are rowing exclusively on the right side. Using a single oar is a necessary design in the city of Venice where the canals are quite thin and traffic on the waterways can be quite dense. Even the ends of a gondola protrude far enough out of the water, allowing the boat to be maneuvered quickly and accurately with minimal expenditure of energy.
A common gondola can carry up to six people, while some larger ferry gondolas, known as gondola ferries, can hold up to fifteen or twenty people. The person rowing a gondola, known as a gondolier, stands upright as he steers the vessel leisurely through the city’s canals. Many gondolas feature small canopies to seat passengers under the beating Italian sun. In the past, Venetian law required that gondolas be painted black, and as a result most passenger gondolas in Venice are still the traditional black colour.
A gondola lift, also called a cable car or aerial tramway, consists of a long steel cable hooked up to two turning points, with a series of passenger cabins carried by the cable. For longer stretches, several supports are placed between the two main points to support the cable and provide additional stability. An electric bullwheel pulls the cable, carrying the gondolas with it. This system makes it possible to vary the speed at which the gondolas move, so that they can be slowed down to allow passengers to disembark or take pictures, for example. Ski lifts are most common in ski resorts, although they are also found in many scenic areas, where they are often called sky rides.
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