Two women keen to break into one of Italy's last male bastions sought admission on Tuesday to Venice's first official course in the art of gondoliering.
One of the female candidates who joined the 127 male ones was German-born Alexandra Hai, who has fought a 10-year battle for the right to steer a gondola around the lagoon city's canals.
The other was Alessandra Taddei, a local woman who belongs to a Venetian rowing club.
Neither woman wanted to share with reporters their impressions after the first day of the week-long trials, which will decide who gets the 40 places on the gondoliering course.
"I don't want to discuss how it went this morning. We can talk about it in ten days' time," said Hai, who has had a troubled relationship with Venice's gondoliers.
She has taken the gondoliers' test four times, steering her boat along canals and performing tricky manoeuvres. But each time she has failed, allegedly because examiners' were "overly strict".
She has accused the 425-strong association of Venetian gondoliers of deliberately keeping her out because of her sex. The association refutes this claim fiercely, saying she simply isn't good enough.
Hai, 40, recently won a small victory when a court upheld her right to ferry hotel guests about in a gondola even though she has no licence. She is employed by a Venetian hotel to offer precisely this service.
But Hai evidently wants more than this and is looking to certify her credentials as an able gondolier in any way possible.
The new course being run by the gondoliers' guild lasts six months. It includes 400 hours of instruction in using the distinctive single oar that is used to propel a gondola through the water.
Students must learn how to steer the banana-shaped boats from the back and the front. They also have to take English courses, study sailing law and demonstrate perfect knowledge of Venice's canals and landmarks.
Roberto Luppi, the president of the gondoliers' co-operative, expressed great pride over the establishment this year of a 'school' for gondoliers.
"Up until now the gondolier's profession was passed down from father to son. From now on you'll have to go to a proper school," he said.
