How to Become a Gondolier: Venice

Look closely at the gondola to the back.
The prow shows the Venetian flag.

Venice. The city of romance. And the city of those gondoliers. How does one get to be a gondolier? It's not as easy as donning a black and white stripped shirt and building up your bi & triceps.

1. First of all, it's expensive and competitive. Only 425 licenses are granted. Each license costs 700,00 euros.
2. Then you must join the gondolier guild.
3. Because it's such a tight-knit community, licenses are generally passed down from father to son. If no son exists, then the license may be sold. Not until 2010 had a woman ever been a gondolier. Giorgia Boscolo broke the glass gondola ceiling.
4. To become one, the man must attend 400 hours of instruction and pass  navigational and physical tests.
5. Gondolas must be black. At the prow of each gondola is a silver flag representing the six districts of Venice. Five prongs of the flag point forward, one back, this rear-facing prong represents the island of Giudecca. This, more or less represents the geographical layout of the districts.