VENICE
“I
t all started here” says Andrea Tagliapietra.
We are in an enormous hall in the basement
of the Palazzo Fortuny, a gothic palazzo
from the 16th century located in the middle
of central Venice, that nowadays houses a museum. A
small canal along the premises gives out onto the
renowned Canal Grande. “My father Dino opened a
wharf here in 1967 where gondolas were made and
restored. He had been taught the techniques by my
grandfather, who worked for a gondola builder in the
Castello quarter and later for the famous Cantiere
Navale Celli. It was just a matter of course that my
brother Luca and I would continue the business. But very
soon we wanted more and we applied ourselves to the
construction of water taxis. After that it was a natural
step for us to start designing and manufacturing other
wooden boats.” Those who pay close attention during a