Undoubtedly, the gondola is the ultimate symbol of Venice. It’s hard to imagine that the sleek black vessels used to be colourful in the past. The noble families who owned gondolas used them as a means to show off their power thus turning their lush decoration and vivid colours into some kind of competition. It was in the early 1600s when the Senate decided to bring this competition to an end by forbidding all other colours but black. Evidently, a gondola ride is among the top things to do in Venice.