Venezia

Venice, Italy, 1994

Photograph by Sam Abell

Members of the Querini boat club row alla veneta, or gondola-style, through the waters of Venice Lagoon during the city’s 20th annual Vogalonga, a spirited rowing marathon that covers an 18-mile (30-kilometer) loop from Venice to Burano and back.

A group of oarsmen started the race in 1974 to revive traditional Venetian lagoon rowing. Today, the competition attracts some 5,200 rowers in more than 1,400 boats.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, « Venice: More Than a Dream, » February 1995, National Geographic magazine)