At Olympic Games there are medals, gold, silver and bronze. TO Venice the flags. Whoever wins a regatta wins a triangular flag. Red for the first. Few people know – outside the world of regattas – that those pieces of satin, carefully decorated, all come from the same hand, that of the lady of the flags, Anna CampagnariThat for about fifteen years he has regularly won the tender that the Municipality announces to purchase those to be delivered to the first classified in the regattas. From the Historic to all the other races on the official calendar. There are hundreds of flags, because the crews range from two people (gondoliers, pupparini and mascarete, are the different boats) up to six for the caorline. And it must also be considered that, due to a Venetian tradition that is lost in the mists of time, the podium is not reserved for the first three, as in the rest of the world, but the fourth-placed crew also wins its flag. Only the color changes. Red, white, green and blue, in order of placement. The curious aspect is that many of those flags that Anna, or rather Anareta as she is known in the world of rowing, prepares, then return home, because both she and her husband, Marino Almansi, a lawyer by profession, are two rowing champions . And even if their sixty years no longer await them, they continue to row with unchanged passion. Rowing is one of the longest-lived sports and there are numerous cases of winning champions even at retirement age.
Entering Anna’s laboratory means taking a dive into the Venetian spirit. We are located in San Pantalon, halfway between Piazzale Roma and the Ca’ Foscari University, Falier building, one of the many treasures that Venice hides. You could say house and shop. On the ground floor, a fascinating laboratory, with walls lined with flags and cups, and numerous collector’s items as furnishings, including a felze (the ancient gondola cover) which was used on the occasion of Queen Margherita’s visit. Upstairs is the apartment, where Anna and Marino love to receive friends, in large numbers, judging by the length of the table. «I started making flags about thirty years ago, but I would say as a hobby. My mother was a seamstress and I learned a few tricks of the trade from her. I sewed the flags that were given as prizes at the Befane Regatta (another Venetian tradition, a race with rowers in old women’s clothes at the oars, which naturally takes place on January 6th ed.). Only about fifteen years ago I decided to make it a profession. The craftsman who had been making them up to that point, Mr. Da Cal, had decided to retire and I tried to replace him, since I already had a bit of a job. Since then, before Covid, I have also achieved a thousand flags a year».
It seems easy to make a flag. In reality, as with all handcrafted products, manual skill, quality of materials, time, patience and passion are required
«To make one racing flag, if no one interrupts you, and you just dedicate yourself to that, it takes a couple of hours. Must do the ink drawing on the fabric, gilding it, sewing the fringe, fixing the cord, cutting the three satin fabrics which must be overlapped one on top of the other. The fabric must be fixed to the metal stick at the end of which the knob goes. For a flag you need one and a half meters of fringe, one meter of cord, and pieces of fabric. Focus on quality. I try to give my best, if someone wins he must also receive something adequate.” Anna Campagnari knows about victories. She doesn’t remember how many there are. She paired with various companions, starting with Lucia Bubacco, the mother of Rudy Vignotto, king of the oar together with her cousin Igor. Then a long partnership with Nadia Donà, now Marta Signorelli, her lifelong friend. «Participating in a regatta is something incredible for us Venetians. It gives you indescribable emotions. If you then win the Historical Regatta, I have won four of them, in 24 participations, plus various flag placings. I still get shivers when I think about my first victory in 1987. I had already been considered the favorite for a few years, but for one reason or another the success never came. Entering the Grand Canal first gave me crazy energy, I could feel the crowd cheering me on. At the finish line I couldn’t hold back the tears.” Anna tells and indicates the flags won, each one has its own story, always imbued with sweat, effort, passion. «Sometimes I wonder who makes me continue. The answer is very simple: I like it. Rowing completes me, I love sport, I ran half marathons, I went swimming. I believe I was the first racer to apply a training method that wasn’t just rowing, but also gym, running and training with the braked boat. Try paddling with something tied to the stern that slows you down. Very tough, but then you could see the results in the race.” A long career, still open. She started, when women in boats were viewed with a certain distrust, rowing standing up wasn’t for them… «Now it’s normal, in the past they shouted at me, go back to the kitchen at the stove. The rewards were also different, men received much more. However, in ’87, with the first Historical, I earned 5 million, which was worth much more than the equivalent 2,500 euros today. Now the prizes are the same, thanks also to the commitment of Benito Vignotto, but leveled downwards.”
TIMES CHANGE
Times change, there are also fewer people rowing. «The regattas have decreased a bit, I can see it from the fact that they ask me for fewer flags. But there is no shortage of work for my laboratory. Over time I have acquired one international clientele. The flag is purchased as a souvenir of Venice. Or I am commissioned with the colors or symbols of other companies. I have branched out, I also make banners, pennants, cushions, “Furlane” slippers. Everything always done by hand. Unique pieces. Wanted. There are my flags in Germany, Sweden, France, even in the New York fire station.” All the items produced are marketed under the brand “Anareta“, the nickname of Anna Campagnari. Where does it come from? «It’s a play on words, it’s the diminutive of Anna and duck. At the beginning I rowed for Canottieri Bucintoro. Sometimes I was at the helm and I shouted the rhythm. Someone to catch me she said around me: you look like an anara. I was young and so I became Anareta. A nickname I’m proud of.”
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