Monday, September 16, 2024

Italian city offering exclusive job for up to £127,000 – but there’s a catch

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One of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations is offering people the chance to work and live in the city for a whopping £127,000 a year.

Venice is looking for gondoliers to take tourists through the city’s iconic canals.

Applicants have to be 18 and over, have a school-level education, and know how to swim. They also need to speak Italian.

Those who become a gondolier will first have to embark on a six-month training course, costing around £850 for 400 hours of training.

When the training is complete, the applicant receives a certificate and a boating license in the reputable “gondola driver” department.

The gondolier is then responsible for the upkeep of their 11m gondola.

Civitatis Venice’s website shows how costly a gondolier ride is, indicating how those in the industry are able to make so much money: “The official tariff of a 30-minute ride on a gondola is €80 (£68.10).

“The price goes up to €100 (£85.10) from 7 pm onwards. If you want the gondolier to sing or to play an instrument during the ride, you will have to pay extra.”

Applications for the role close on August 27.

Venice’s popularity has not come without issues. The city brought in new measures in June to try and bring tourism numbers to a manageable level.

Tour groups can now only bring a maximum of 25 people.

Loudspeakers are also banned in the city to avoid “confusion and disturbances.”

Simone Venturini, the city’s councillor for tourism, said: “We need to find a new balance between the tourists and residents.

“We need to safeguard the spaces of the residents, of course, and we need to discourage the arrival of day-trippers on some particular days.”

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