{"product_id":"gondola-h-b","title":"Donna Leon: Gondola: Donna Leon [2014] hardback","description":"Of all the trademarks of Venice - and there are many, from the gilded Basilica of San Marco to the melancholy Bridge of Sighs - none is more ubiquitous than the gondola. In Gondola, the internationally acclaimed 'American with the Venetian heart', Donna Leon, tells its fascinating story. First used in medieval Venice as a deftly manoeuverable getaway boat, the gondola evolved over the centuries into a floating pleasure palace, bedecked in silk, that facilitated the romantic escapades of the Venetian elite. Today, the gondola wears black - a gleaming, elegant hue, and is manned by robust gondolieri in black-and-white-striped shirts and straw hats. A tourist favourite, the gondola has never ceased to be a part of authentic Venice. Each boat's 280 pieces are carefully fashioned in a maestro's workshop - though Leon also recounts a tale of an American friend who attempted to make a gondola all on his own.  The feat took five years and countless do-overs. But the gondola is a work of art well worth the labour. And once its arched prow pushes off from the dock, the single Venetian at its oar just might break out in a barcarole, a popular Italian boat song.\u003cbr\u003eThe best of these songs, as timeless as the allure of the gondola itself, are compiled into an accompanying CD.","brand":"Leon, Donna","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":44278339272994,"sku":"9780434023141","price":6.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0616\/4001\/6057\/files\/leon-donna-donna-leon-gondola-donna-leon-2014-hardback-9780434023141-58848013582675.jpg?v=1726712228","url":"https:\/\/theirishbookshop.live\/products\/gondola-h-b","provider":"Chapters Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}