Memento Vivere

❖ The Basics ❖

❖ Character Name: Rizardo Donà
❖ Nic Names: Gondoliere; driver;
❖ Titles/Occupation: Gondoliere; 4th generation
❖ Character Age: thirty-three
❖ Character Gender: Male
❖ Character Sexuality: heterosexual
❖ Play by/Face Claim: Alex Belli (Alessandro Gabelli)




❖ Appearance ❖

Rizardo is a healthy male of 33 years, standing tall at 188 cm (6’2”) and weighs in at a slim yet muscled 81.7 kg (180 lbs). The mysteriously attractive man has eyes of blue and dark hair... Taller and more ruggedly handsome for the average gondoliere, or even the normal man... Should anyone be lucky enough to witness his physique, they’d find a slim muscled form from head to feet... his profession as a gondoliere proffers him a fine profile of a well-fit and tanned man in his thirties.




❖ Personality ❖

Rizardo is proud to be a gondoliere, and takes his job seriously... to a point. He can be rough, strong and sensitive; the focus being in charge and in control. As a service provider, he does find being respectful, honest, and trustworthy beneficial traits to his profession, but at times, very hard to maintain that demeanor. He does enjoy telling his telling his spooky stories and watching the ladies, and sometimes the men, cringe; but to keep the smirk off his face must be tactful. One thing that can be depressing is his mysterious, or magical, power to attract... woman or man... But his love of the ladies, regardless of social class could often get him in trouble, if he gave in to their presumptions. Knowing that a man's physical attractiveness and charm have a strong impact on women's preferences, he is quick and perceptive, and is cautious not to cause the husbands or suitors to be jealous of him. He is able to keep secrets, or turn a deaf ear when needed. But the knowledge of people’s secrets can be a burden, but he knows his place. A man of strength not only of mind but body, he is able to defend himself, or others, should he choose to. But what the general populace does not know if his ability to fight, with fists, swords, or pistols.


❖ Likes ❖

❖ Carnivale;
❖ the ladies... disregarding social class;
❖ wine, especially the expensive kind;
❖ telling his spooky stories and watching the ladies, and sometimes the men cringe;


❖ Dislikes ❖

❖ The Patrizi, though they paid well...;
❖ greedy councilors...;
❖ being so tall, with small bridges;
❖



❖ Skills ❖

❖ handling his vessel;
❖ knowledge of the canals;
❖ use of sword and dagger;
❖ multiple languages


❖ Strengths ❖

❖ His ability to remain secretive;
❖ charm, and a smooth bass-baritone voice;
❖ his stories for customers;


❖ Weaknesses ❖

❖ The ladies, regardless of the social class;
❖ expensive wine;
❖



❖ Spouse ❖ --- None yet; I prefer to marry one I will find love with;

❖ Lovers ❖ --- Yes; as often as possible; But I do not kiss and tell;

❖ Children ❖ --- None that I know of... Some day; as I am expected as firstborn;


❖ Extended Family ❖

❖ FATHER: Donato di Solario ('an open field exposed to the sun', 3rd gen gondoliere)
❖ MOTHER: Elisabetta Antelini, a seamstress from Antella, a small village in Tuscany
❖ SIBLINGS:
❖ ANCESTORS:

❖ Allies ❖

❖ Two very special Cortigiana onesta;
❖ Arsenalotti;
❖ Passamaneri (craftsmen in the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings);
❖ Senatore (4 special people);
❖ Council of Ten (2 special people);


❖ Enemies ❖

❖ Patrons di L’Arsenale;
❖ Corazzieiri;
❖Provveditore d'Armata (Superintendent of the Fleet);




Tis said, Venezia in winter is a magical and memorable... with the weather a bit windy and damp, eventually turning rainy and chilly, even a bit cold, but that only adds to the allure of frequent ghostly fog or drizzle... alas, in deep winter, it can even snow, though intermittently and light. But a young mother in labor with her first could care less of the weather outside...

Twas mid-winter in Sestiere San Croce, amidst the joyous days of yuletide, in a small residence, when the first of four sons was born on 22 December, the year 1541, to Elisabetta Antelini, a seamstress from Antella, a small village in Tuscany, and a third-generation gondoliere named Donato di Solario.... The proud parents named him Rizardo... a strong and proud Venetian name of many gondoliere brethren that had tread the waters of the Venetian canals. And Rizardo would be the family’s 4th generation of men who practiced the art of Voga alla Veneta, that prestigious Venetian style of rowing, standing up and facing forward, while ferrying thousands of people, including the patrician, and tonnes of cargo along the city’s sacred canals.

Rowing the dark gondola with the red-colored felze, is a skillful and proud career, and belonging to the 500-year-old Guild is a privilege wrought by hard work, physical fitness, and manners... and Rizardo, as did most of the children from a gondolier family, started to row at a very young age. He’d learn the trade, instructed and advised by a loving father, of the gondoliere by working on his strength and agility of handling the unique boat, and the repair and maintenance of the family’s boats by day, and studies in the understanding the maze of canals, history of Venezia, negotiating wise terms of payment, mathematics (counting and angles to negotiate sharp turns), and learning several key languages by night.

Rizardo learned, quite quickly and perceptively, and his handsome face, his charm, and the decorative attire was favored by the women, courtesan and proper ladies alike... while his skills at handling most any boat was often noted by the merchants. Within a few years, he became a gondoliere who mainly worked for rich Venetian families, even to the extent of using their own lavishly-built gondola. The aristocracy soon became familiar with him, for he knew when to look away, and how to keep secrets.... and as he soon treated with respect and now, at age 33, is high up on the social scale.

Oh, the stories that man could tell from his years upon the waters... but dependent upon the customer who rode in silence, or the one who’d speak query him about the city, the only stories he would divulge would be the city’s pale, ghostly faces of mystery which would make his charges shiver in their boots, or slippers, and double-check themselves at night that they are tightly tucked in bed without even a toe peeking from underneath the comforter.

If his customer was interested in the unnerving, or the mysterious, regardless of Sestiere, between origin and destination, he would use curving alleys abruptly ending on the edge of yet another dark canal, the deep wells in the middle of its many squares, those dense fogs that would quickly envelop the lagoon in their ghostly embrace, the gothic palazzi that after dark that could make the rider feel like he or she was in an eerie dream, and his assuming a confusing labyrinthine character, he was able to keep customers in suspense and awe... even a bit frightened, ready to exit his boat. But the suspense of the mysterious story only drew them in deeper.

But Rizardo, the family’s 4th generation gondoliere, took his profession seriously, though he was prone to enjoying life, not satisfied with a humdrum and boring job... upon the waters of La Serenissima... his goal was to endure, prosper, and make his life worth living.