Saverio Pastor was born in
Venice in 1958. Between 1975 and 1980 he worked with the last of the master remèri:
Giuseppe Carli, the 'forcola king', and Gino
Fossetta, the 'oar wizard'. In 1980 he opened
his own workshop before going on to restore a workshop near the Arsenale
with the company Spazio Legno and worked there until 2001. In 2002 he
opened a new workshop - LE FORCOLE - in San Gregorio near the church of the
Madonna della Salute.
He makes
traditional oars and forcole as well as more experimental models
suited to new rowing styles. He has participated in numerous exhibitions
and cultural events, including the Festival of the Sea in Bristol and the
Brest Mer. His book, Forcole, an anthology of writings and
photographs, was published in 2001 and presented at an exhibition at
the Caffé Florian in Saint Mark's Square.
Saverio Pastor's
non-Venetian clients include several American 'gondoliers', and famous
architects such as I. M. Pei and Frank O. Gehry. Some of his works are used to
decorate restaurants and apartments the world over.
In 2002 he founded el
felze - an association of craftsmen involved in the construction of
the gondola and its fittings, and articles of clothing for gondoliers. |