After 900 years of male domination, the 425-strong Ente Gondola of Venice has accepted its first female member and the feminine word “gondoliera” has entered the language.

24-year-old mother of two Giorgia Boscoli passed her final examination on Friday after a six-month course of practical and theoretical instruction. Would-be gondoliers have to learn to navigate the city’s 150 canals expertly and smoothly, know the history of Venice and must acquire basic foreign language skills.

Many people thought that a woman would not be strong enough to manoeuvre a gondola and even Giorgia’s retired gondolier father, Dante, still thinks it is a man’s job, although he has supported his daughter. Giorgia has scoffed at the doubters, saying that childbirth is much more difficult.

For the moment, Giorgia can only substitute a male colleague who is ill or on holiday while she awaits a gondola and a licence but she expects to be ferrying tourists along the canals of Venice in her own boat soon.