The Gondola with Felze

Alcove, shelter or floating lounge, the "felze" has largely contributed to the myth of Venice as a libertine city. First, simple drape on a wooden frame, then proper cabin, it had a valuable role in protecting and hiding the passengers and the meetings of forbidden love.

The external decoration was carvers' job, while the inner part was done by upholsterers (from the seventeenth century the structure was covered by the socalled "rascia", a black wool fabric sold in Calle delle Rasse, in fact). The furniture was embellished with mirrors, carpets and braziers. On the entrance door, under the emblem of the patrician house, hung a lantern that gave a dim light inside the felze.

The shutters on the windows allowed total isolation. As Henry James wrote, "in the intimacy of felze, with the vivid Venetian picture framed by the mobile window."