Did you know that the gondoliers have an official clothing sponsor? Since 2012 Emilio Ceccato has been the exclusive supplier of the gondolier's uniform. In addition to the uniform they sell gondola-themed clothing and accessories. They have three stores in the city with the easiest accessible store located in the base of the Rialto Bridge. All their items are also available online.
As the official sponsor all royalties from the sale of merchandise fund projects that preserve the gondola tradition as well as the specialty jobs supporting the gondola profession (gondola makers, schools for gondoliers, etc.) I found this to be very admirable. One of my few regrets visiting Venice was not stopping by and purchasing my souvenir here.
I found out about Emilio Ceccato through their website. My most coveted souvenir from my two-week trip to Italy was a rope bracelet adorned with the "ferro di prua" - the iron prow situated on the top of every gondola and thus symbolic of Venice. Whenever I'm traveling I'm always on the lookout for unique wearable souvenirs and I immediately fell in love with the bracelet at first sight. The store carrying the bracelet was situated in one of the back streets of Venice (but somewhere along San Marco) but it carried more chic and unique Venice-related souvenirs than your store that sells tacky tourist trinkets or Murano glass jewlery, as those shops are a dime a dozen.
A week after returning to the US I wore the bracelet for the first time and I ended up losing it. It was wholly my fault as I originally bought a bracelet that was too big and thus kept on moving around.
I was set on replacing that bracelet. Luckily a Google search revealed the Emilio Ceccato website being an authorized seller of my bracelet. I was able to find the exact bracelet but in a smaller size. The price listed was the exact price I paid in the other vendor plus a shipping fee of about €20. The shipping was steep but I was able to get my bracelet shipped through DHL in less than a week. I'm still very happy of my purchase and I thank Emilio Ceccato for giving me the opportunity to replace my lost item. read more