WORLD BRIEFING / ITALY
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Nine centuries of male monopoly on the canals of Venice came to an end when the first woman passed the grueling test to become a trainee gondolier.
Giorgia Boscolo, the 23-year-old daughter of a gondolier, earned one of the 22 places available, but two other female candidates failed to gain admission. Boscolo is now authorized to take passengers on her gondola while completing her training.
“I have always been in love with gondolas, unlike my three sisters, and I used to prefer going rowing with my father to going out with my friends,” Boscolo told Ansa news agency.
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