Traghetto (plural: traghetti) means "ferry" in Italian. On Venice's Grand Canal, traghetti are the passenger boats that cross the canal at seven points between the railroad station and St. Mark's Basin. The boats are old gondolas that have been stripped of their brocaded chairs and other luxury trimmings. They are rowed by two oarsmen: one who stands behind the passengers like a traditional gondolier, the other closer to the bow.

Most traghetti have been operated by the same families for generations. As recently as the 1950s, there were some 30 of these gondola ferry routes.
Today, there are seven:

Fondamente S. Lucia (in front of the railroad station) - Fondamenta San Simeón Piccolo
San Marcuola - Fóndaco dei Turchi (by the Natural History Museum)
Santa Sofia (near Ca' D'Oro) - Pescaria (fish market)
Riva del Carbòn - Fondamente del Vin
Sant' Angelo - San Tomà
San Samuele - Ca' Rezzónico
Campo del Traghetto - Calle Lanza (near the Salute Church)

The routes are clearly marked on any good street map of Venice (look for straight lines across the Grand Canal), and you'll often see yellow signs pointing toward the traghetto landings when you're walking through neighborhoods along the Grand Canal.

The most crowded traghetto in the morning is surely the one between Campo Santa Sofia and Campo della Pescaria, because of the markets of the Rialto (the fish market and the fruit and vegetable stalls are open from 7am to 1pm Tuesday to Saturday).

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