There's no doubt that the gondola is a symbol of Venice, Italy, but how did this curious banana-shaped black boat get its distinctive look?

毫無疑問，貢多拉船是義大利威尼斯的象徵，但是這個奇怪的香蕉形黑船，是怎麼演變成這種獨特外觀的？

The origins of the Venetian gondola are lost to history, but by the 1500s, some 10,000 gondolas transported dignitaries, merchants, and goods through the city's canals.

威尼斯貢多拉船的起源早已失去明確的歷史考據，但直至 16 世紀，仍有約一萬艘的貢多拉船載著政要、商賈及貨物，穿流在城市的水道上。

In fact, Venice teemed with many types of handmade boats, from utilitarian rafts to the Doge's own ostentatious gilded barge.

事實上，當時的威尼斯充滿著各式各樣的手工船，從實用的木筏到總督御用闊氣的鍍金駁船都有。

Like a modern day taxi system, gondolas were leased to boatmen who made the rounds of the city's ferry stations.

就像現代的計程車系統，船夫租賃貢多拉船行遍城內的各個渡口。

Passengers paid a fare to be carried from one side of the Grand Canal to the other, as well as to other points around the city.

而乘客要付一筆船費，從大運河的一邊到另一邊，或到城內其他地方。

But gondoliers soon developed a bad rap.

但是船夫們很快就搞壞了名聲。

Historical documents describe numerous infractions involving boatmen, including cursing, gambling, extorting passengers, even occasional acts of violence.

歷史文件描述了多種與船夫由關的違法事件，包括罵髒話、賭博、敲詐乘客，甚至偶爾還有暴力事件發生。

To minimize the unpredictability of canal travel, Venetian citizens who could afford it, purchased their own gondolas, just as a celebrity might use a private car and driver today.

為了減少運河旅行的意外，負擔得起的威尼斯人都買了自己的貢多拉船，就像今天的名流會僱傭司機開私家車一樣。

These wealthy Venetians hired two private gondoliers to ferry them around the city and maintain their boats.

這些有錢的威尼斯人會雇用兩名私人船夫載著他們在城內穿梭，並負責維修他們的船。

The gondolas soon became a status symbol, much like an expensive car, with custom fittings, carved and gilded ornamentation, and seasonal fabrics, like silk and velvet.

貢多拉船很快就成為一種地位的象徵，就像昂貴的汽車一樣，有客製化的內裝、精雕及鍍金的裝飾，還有隨季節變換的布料，如絲綢及絨布。

However, the majority of gondolas seen today are black, because in 1562, Venetian authorities decreed that all but ceremonial gondolas be painted black in order to avoid sinfully extravagant displays.

然而，今天所見的貢多拉船大多是黑色的原因，是因為威尼斯當局在 1562 年下令除了慶典用船，所有的貢多拉船都要漆成黑色，以避免不道德的過度奢華。

Apparently, Venetian authorities did not believe in "pimping their rides".

很明顯，威尼斯當局並不相信 「愛船大改造」的道理。

Still, some wealthy Venetians chose to pay the fines in order to maintain their ornamental gondolas, a small price to keep up appearances.

儘管如此，一些有錢的威尼斯人，還是選擇付罰款，以繼續保有他們華麗的貢多拉船。這對維持門面來說不過是點小錢罷了！

The distinctive look of the gondola developed over many centuries.

貢多拉船特殊的外觀經過多個世紀的演變而來。

Each gondola was constructed in a family boatyard called a "squero".

每一艘貢多拉船都由稱為「斯奎諾」的家庭式小船廠造出。

From their fathers and grandfathers, sons learned how to select and season pieces of beech, cherry, elm, fir, larch, lime, mahogany, oak, and walnut.

從父親和祖父那裡，兒子們學到如何選擇及乾燥木料，如櫸木、櫻木、榆木、杉木、落葉松、椴木、桃木、橡木及胡桃木。

The gondola makers began with a wooden template that may have been hammered into the workshop floor generations earlier.

貢多拉船製造者從一段木頭模板開始，模而板可能早在幾世代前就已製好，釘在工作間地板上。

From this basic form, they attached fore and aft sterns, then formed the longitudinal planks and ribs that made up the frame of a boat designed to glide through shallow, narrow canals.

從這個基本型著手，他們再加上船艏及船艉，然後放上縱材肋材組成船身，專門設計在淺窄的水道上滑行。

A gondola has no straight lines or edges.

貢多拉船沒有任何直線或尖角。

Its familiar profile was achieved through an impressive fire and water process that involved warping the boards with torches made of marsh reeds set ablaze.

船體側面要經由一段令人驚嘆的水火處理，包括用燃燒的蘆葦火炬讓木板彎曲。

However, the majority of the 500 hours that went into building a gondola involved the final stages: preparing surfaces and applying successive coats of waterproof varnish.

然而，造一艘貢多拉船所需的五百小時工時大部分都花在最後一道手續：表面處理及上幾道防水漆上。

The varnish was a family recipe, as closely guarded as one for risotto or a homemade sauce.

防水漆是每一家的祖傳秘方，就像義大利燉飯或自製調醬食譜一樣，被隱密嚴守著。

Yet even with the woodwork finished, the gondola was still not complete.

但即使完成了木工，此時的貢多拉船仍然只是半成品。

Specialized artisans supplied their gondola-making colleagues with elaborate covered passenger compartments, upholstery, and ornaments of steel and brass.

專業工匠會供應精心製作的船艙坐墊、鋼飾、銅飾等給製造貢多拉船的熟客。

Oar makers became integral partners to the gondola makers.

槳的製造者是貢多拉船製造商不可或缺的夥伴。

The Venetian oarlock, or "fórcola", began as a simple wooden fork, but evolved into a high-precision tool that allowed a gondolier to guide the oar into many positions.

威尼斯槳架，或稱「弗考拉」，最初只是一個簡單的木製叉狀物，但在最後演變成高度精確的工具，讓船夫能操縱船槳到很多位置。

By the late 1800s, gondola makers began to make the left side of the gondola wider than the right as a counter balance to the force created by a single gondolier.

到十九世紀末期，貢多拉船製造者開始將船的左側做得比右側寬一點，以抵銷單一船夫所產生的力道。

This modification allowed rowers to steer from the right side only, and without lifting the oar from the water.

這種修正使槳手只需在右側駕船，無需從水中提槳。

While these modifications improved gondola travel, they were not enough to keep pace with motorized boats.

雖然這樣的修正改進了貢多拉船的移動，它們仍然不敵電動船的速度。

Today, only about 400 gondolas glide through the waterways of Venice, and each year, fewer authentic gondolas are turned out by hand.

今天，只剩約四百艘貢多拉船還在威尼斯的水道上滑行，而正宗的手工貢多拉船出產量年年減少。

But along the alleys, street signs contain words in Venetian dialect for the locations of old boatyards, oar makers, and ferry stations,

但在小巷中仍有著寫著威尼斯語的路牌，指示著老船廠、船槳製造商及渡輪站所在，

imprinting the memory of the boat-building trades that once kept life in the most serene republic gliding along at a steady clip.

銘刻著造船業曾經何等繁茂，在寧靜的共和國內川流不息的記憶。