Gondola and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

FREE Shipping on orders over $35.

This title has not yet been released.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Gift-wrap available.

Sign in to turn on 1-click ordering

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Gondola Hardcover – December 9, 2014

by Donna Leon (Author)

See all 3 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Amazon Price New from Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$12.99

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$20.20

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$9.18

or Free with Audible 30-day free trial

Of all the trademarks of Venice—and there are many, from the gilded Basilica of San Marco to the melancholy Bridge of Sighs—none is more ubiquitous than the gondola. The internationally acclaimed “American with the Venetian heart,” Donna Leon, tells its fascinating story (The Washington Post).

First used in medieval Venice as a deftly maneuverable getaway boat, the gondola evolved over the centuries into a floating pleasure palace, bedecked in silk, that facilitated the romantic escapades of the Venetian elite. Today, the gondola wears black—a gleaming, elegant hue, and is manned by robust gondolieri in black-and-white-striped shirts and straw hats.

A tourist favorite, the gondola has never ceased to be a part of authentic Venice. Each boat’s 280 pieces are carefully fashioned in a maestro’s workshop—though Leon also recounts a tale of an American friend who attempted to make a gondola all on his own. The feat took five years and countless do-overs. But the gondola is a work of art well worth the labor. And once its arched prow pushes off from the dock, the single Venetian at its oar just might break out in a barcarole, a popular Italian boat song. The best of these songs, as timeless as the allure of the gondola itself, are compiled into an accompanying CD.

Gondola

$20.20 FREE Shipping on orders over $35. This title has not yet been released. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Pre-order Price Guarantee! Order now and if the Amazon.com price decreases between your order time and the end of the day of the release date, you'll receive the lowest price. Here's how (restrictions apply)

Frequently Bought Together

Price for all three: $48.62

Some of these items ship sooner than the others. Show details

Buy the selected items together

This item: Gondola by Donna Leon Hardcover $20.20
By its Cover: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon Hardcover $16.12
Angelica's Smile (Inspector Montalbano) by Andrea Camilleri Paperback $12.30

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

By its Cover: A Commissario Guido …
› Donna Leon

4.0 out of 5 stars (398)

Hardcover

$16.12
My Venice and Other Essays
› Donna Leon

3.8 out of 5 stars (73)

Hardcover

$1.64
Angelica's Smile (Inspector …
› Andrea Camilleri

4.2 out of 5 stars (58)

Paperback

$12.30
Hunting Season: A Novel
› Andrea Camilleri

3.2 out of 5 stars (36)

Paperback

$11.53
The Jewels of Paradise
› Donna Leon

2.9 out of 5 stars (298)

Paperback

$11.35
I Will Have Vengeance (COMMISARRIO …
Maurizio de Giovanni

4.4 out of 5 stars (21)

Paperback

$13.16

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Pre-order Gondola for your Kindle today.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Product Details

Hardcover: 80 pages
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press; Har/Cdr edition (December 9, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0802122663
ISBN-13: 978-0802122667
Shipping Weight: 0.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #61 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Opera

Would you like to give feedback on images?.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Donna Leon is the author of the internationally bestselling Commissario Guido Brunetti series. The winner of the CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction, among other awards, Leon was born in New Jersey and has lived in Venice for thirty years.