Meet the Row Venice Team

Jane Caporal started it all over 15 years ago ago in her small s’ciopòn, which she soon traded for the larger, rare, elegant batela coda di gambero—now our flagship craft.

Jane hails from Bristol, England, grew up in Australia, returned to London where she met her Italian husband, and has now lived in Venice longer (over 20 years) than in either of her original home countries. Jane has been a vogatrice almost since she arrived, and regularly carries home a prize bandiera in the many regattas she rows in throughout the season— including numerous appearances in the all-important Regata Storica.

Jane is the administrator of the non-profit Row Venice, and handles customer relations, lesson and instructor scheduling, group arrangements and more.

Nan McElroy became a voga appassionata not long after she moved to Venice in 2004. Thanks to various escursions organized by local rowing clubs, she has rowed Venetian-style across the lagoon, around the the Po river delta, over to Friuli, abroad in France, on the Thames, and even around the island of Ponza.

Nan joined Row Venice early on to help share and promote the uniquely rewarding experience of the Venetian voga; an Italian-certified sommelier, she also loves to share her knowledge of regional wines with folks who opt for our Cichetto Row. Nan is co-coordinator and “operations”, focusing on digital operations, scheduling, the web site & booking system, images & web content.

Elena Almansi was born and lives in Venice. Daughter of two Venetian rowing champions, she follows in their footsteps by achieving incredible results, including two third-place finishes in the challenging Regata Storica; she is also a national champion in the discipline of stand-up rowing (also known as the voga, that we teach at Row Venice). She has always fought hard for the rights of female athletes and has been instrumental in achieving parity in the regatta environment. Since the beginning of Row Venice she has been offering classes in Italian and English, during which she recounts her authentic Venetian experience.

Caterina Almansi is Venice-born, the daughter of two Venetian rowing champions and “little” sister of instructor Elena. She has dedicated herself to the sport since childhood, seeing it as the ideal way to explore and appreciate the city. Today she practices competitive kayaking and also trains for competitions with Ca’ Foscari University’s 15-meter Galeone, a traditional eight-oared, fixed-seat craft.

After working with Row Venice for years as an English and Spanish language translator, Cate is now our primary tour operator and agency contact and general customer support; it will probably be her answering your questions on our Live Chat!

Giulia Tagliapietra was born on the north lagoon island of Burano. As her father is a fisherman, she has been rowing Venetian-style since she was 10-years old. She qualified for her first Regata Storica at only 17 years, an extraordinary accomplishment, and keeps racing with outstanding results. Giulia graduated university with one degree in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation and another in International Relations; she is also very interested in the topic of gender equality. Giulia also keeps our approaching 3,000 Instagram followers up-to-date on Row Venice activities, and is available for lessons in Italian, English and Spanish.

Anna Santagiustina is Veneziana D.O.C, born in Venice with a family she traces back to the mid-1700s. As a child, Anna learned the secrets of the voga by studying the gondoliers beneath her window on the rio behind the Malibran Theatre; as a retired middle school teacher Anna is also great with kids and families. Anna is available for lessons in English, French, Italian—or Venetian, of course.

Born and raised in the Prosecco region, Bea (Bay-a, or nickname BB) moved to Venice in 2013 to study Italian Sign Language at university—a language that she now uses in her work as a teacher for kids with special needs.

BB began rowing alla veneta almost as soon after she moved to Venice. She fell in love with this traditional style of rowing that is so much a part of Venice, and with the way she feels when she’s on a boat.

She began working with Row Venice in 2017, assisting as an English and Spanish translator, but has evolved to a full-fledged instructor conducting lessons da sola. BB says get ready for her robust laugh and by her own admission, talking non-stop!

She discovered Venetian rowing in 2014, which became a true passion, and it was the driving force that helped her recover from a bad accident more quickly than expected.

Bea is also a 500RYT Yoga teacher (Vinyasa and Yin style), so you can often see her with her easel looking for the perfect spot to teach online classes.

Cristina Montin loves to teach. She started rowing as a child, learning from and absorbing the passion of her father, Paolo. Cristina is also an avid racer, with a passion to put herself to the test, participating in the most competitive city-wide races throughout her over 15-year racing career as a Campionessa. She’s placed in her preferred Murano regata almost regularly, as well as in the Regata Storica, claiming a 4th place finish. Cristina has continued to refine her rowing and racing skills, obtaining the 2º level instructor certification. So…be ready to learn from one of the best!

Elisa Costantini was born on Burano, the island in the north lagoon known to travelers for fishing and lace traditions, but to locals for their rich history of innumerable champion regatanti. Elisa starting rowing at 10 years old; at 15 began competing against established campionesse in city-wide races. Now graduated from university, Elisa also studied languages at the Instituto Turistico Algarotti in Venice, and can conduct your lesson in English, Spanish, and French.

Gabriella Lazzari was born in Togo, Africa to a Sicilian mother and papà Venessiàn, and came home to Venice in 1971. She began rowing for fun, but her passion soon drove her to begin competing and she hasn’t stopped since. She has participated in the renown Regata Storica, in other regate of all types and boats practically non-stop, and in the yearly Vogalonga marathon as well. With Row Venice, Gabriella hopes to transmit both the art of the voga and her passion for the Venetian lagoon to you, in English, French, and Italian.

Luigina Davanzo is a veteran of Venetian rowing. She has participated in the exclusive Regata Storica more than 10 times, and is currently National champion of the national stand up rowing circuit (VIP – Voga in Piede) together with Jane, who is her rowing partner. Apart from being one of the top female poppiere ( the gondolier position, at the helm) Luigina is also a valesana (one rower, two oars, as in the photo) champion.

Marta Bortolozzo was born on the mainland but soon fell in love with Venetian rowing and moved to Venice as soon as she finished medical school: now, while she rows, she waits to understand what kind of doctor she wants to become.

She takes part in some regattas but more than the competitive aspect, she loves exploring the lagoon and the nature that inhabits it. When she is not on the island, she is traveling around the world surfing, practicing medicine or discovering new places.

If you speak English, Italian, French or Spanish, Marta may be your instructor!

Paola Tappeto is one of those Venetians for whom the term “born on a boat” is very fitting: at just 7 months old she took part in the Vogalonga, the rowing marathon, in her cradle!

Paola teaches Physical Education in elementary schools, offers rehabilitation gymnastics services, is a personal trainer and teaches swimming and water aerobics. A life on the water!

She also takes part in all possible occasions to make Venetian rowing known abroad, reaching England, France and Belgium.

Rachele Odessa is Venetian born. She’s recently graduated high school and will be starting in the faculty of Educational Sciences. Teaching is therefore daily bread for her!

She began to row at only 12 years-old, thanks to her father who was the first to teach her. Since then she has entered the world of Venetian regattas, with an excellent result qualifying for the reserve boat in the 2023 Regata Storica. Rachele is ready to teach you everything that she has learned!

(only one N, please) Vera Nardo is Venice born and raised. Besides having always been athletic and passionate about sports and all sorts of games, she’s a mom of a son and two dogs, and is a graphic designer and illustrator at game design firm Studio Giochi. Rossana won two national VIP (Voga in Piedi) titles in 2014 and 2015, and has held the title of “campionessa” of Venetian rowing since she was 20 years old. This includes a number of participations in the world famous Regata Storica, where she took 3rd place in 2015 with rowing partner and Row Venice instructor Elena Almansi.

Sibylle Lohausen is by now as much Italian as she is German, as she’s lived in the city with her Venetian husband (also a regatante) and family for over thirty years. When Sibylle isn’t racing in one of the many regattas held throughout the season, including the Voga in Piede (VIP) races held on Lago di Garda, she’ll give you lessons in Italian, English… and her native Deutsche, of course.

Valentina Tosi is a champion racer and Venetian-born. As the daughter of a regatante racing campione—who is also her coach—it’s not surprising that she qualified to participate in the Regata Storica (the Holy Grail of Venetian regate and the most famous abroad) at only 14 years old. She has won three of these exclusive races, and is the reigning champion for 2015. Today Valentina lives on the island of Murano, where she and her family produce and sell artisanal Murano glass minatures. Valentina is very happy to have the privilege to transmit her passion for the voga through the lessons offered by Row Venice; you will be very happy to have Valentina for your lesson!