In Byzantine Greek, the term kontoúra referred to a type of boat with a short tail. That word came to Italian as gondola , which is the closest etymological antecedent of gondola .
A gondola is a small boat that lacks a deck and masts . Used especially in Venice ( Italy ), gondolas have a float in their central part and are currently often used for recreational purposes.
The gondolier is the one who is in charge of propulsion and steering the gondola through his oar . In Venice , these long, narrow ships were the most important means of transportation for many centuries, facilitating movement through the canals .
In the 18th century, thousands of gondolas sailed through the Venetian canals. At the end of the following century, however, their manufacture was abandoned and their use was reduced, being replaced by motor boats .
Regarding the physical characteristics of the Venetian gondola, we can say that it is extensive and thin, with a clear asymmetry in its contour that makes propulsion easier using a single oar. In addition, a longitudinal curvature can be seen that has the purpose of reducing the contact area with water to the minimum possible.
To support the oar, the gondola has a kind of fork that is made from walnut wood, a very common tree in Europe. Thanks to the complexity of its shape, the gondolier can perform up to eight different maneuvers, including forward movement, slow rowing, braking , turning and backward navigation, which is known as ciar , a verb used in the field of nautical.
A piece of furniture that allows the display of different elements is also called a gondola. Markets and supermarkets , in this framework, use gondolas to display their products .
Customers, therefore, walk the hallways of the establishment to see the products displayed on the shelves, which are located next to their price . If a person wants to buy an item, they must take it from the shelf and take it to the checkout to make the corresponding payment. This means that markets and supermarkets usually operate under the self-service modality (each buyer has to take the products they want directly from the shelf, and not request them from a seller).
Again in the field of vehicles, the term gondola also refers to a type of railway that receives several other names, such as railway, autorrail, railbús, light motor car and bus . It is a very light vehicle that can have between one and four units. It is propelled by the action of a group of electric or thermal motors.
In the field of literature, on the other hand, we have the poetic collection entitled Góndola funebre , written by Tomas Tranströmer , a renowned Swedish author. He chose the title in honor of The Lugubre Gondola , a piece by Franz Liszt . Broadly speaking, the work deals with the poet's difficulty in continuing with his passion after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
In large cities, gondolas are also common for facade maintenance , platforms that are suspended through the use of ropes connected to a mechanism to move them in a vertical direction. Its use is linked to building repair and restoration work, but also for cleaning its walls and windows. They are especially useful for treating high-rise structures, and can be easily adapted to the specific characteristics of each building, something that affects their design, manufacturing and installation.