Venice set for first female gondolier

Venice is on its way to having its first official female gondolier.

City Hall said today that mother-of-two Giorgia Boscolo had passed the practical exam to become a gondolier.

She is the first woman to pass this test, considered the most difficult of those required to pilot a boat on Venice’s canals.

Mrs Boscolo, 24, must pass one further test, a written, multiple-choice exam, in order to join the guild of official gondoliers.

Deputy Mayor Sandro Simionato said her success breaks “900 years of male dominance” in the profession.