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are
the carpenters specialised in making oars and forcole. The
oar and the forcola (“piece of carved, hard wood on which the oar
is rested while rowing”) are the two elements on which the dynamic
balance of the gondola is centred. It is the fulcrum of the movements (prèmer
and stalìr) with which the gondolier gives propulsion to the boat
and at the same time keeps it in equilibrium. The
remèr ‘extracts’ the forms of the oars and forcole from
the wood: the form of the oar is smooth and linear; that of the forcola
is strongly organic. The oar is shaped using a plane on long planks of
wood to produce an easy-to-handle grip that starts conically-shaped and
becomes cylindrical without losing the robustness that allows it to resist
the stress applied to it by the oarsman. The cylinder then widens into the
blade of the oar with a surface that allows it to move harmoniously in and
out of the water. The
raw material of a forcola is a quarter of a trunk of wood (walnut,
cherry, pear, apple or maple) which is selected by the remèr
before being left to age for three years. The forcola is not
created by following a rigid design, but is the result of the combination
of manual skill and the ability to visualize the desired form. The eye and
sense of touch play a vital role. Each curve and bend of the forcola
must allow variegated movements of the oar in the water. The forcola,
when removed from the context of the gondola, is a fascinating object and
has become one of the symbols of Venice. But its beauty is functional: it
must guarantee the freedom of movement of the oar that provides balance to
the asymmetrical system of man-boat-water. |
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The
workshop of the remèr is today a place where the past is
preserved in a ritual repetition of ancient words (the names of the
tools) and gestures, but it is also a place of continual transformation,
of adapting to the changing form of the gondola, the style of rowing and
the individual characters of the gondoliers. The guild of Venetian remèri was founded in 1307. Some of them, da dentro or da l’Arsenal, made the oars for the ships of the Venetian Republic, others (de gondole) worked in dozens of workshops throughout the city (there are still traces of their presence in place names ending with ‘…del rèmer’). |
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associazione 'el felze' - san marco 430 - 30123 venezia - italy |  |