A little bit of history: the first water buses in Venice
Queen Margherita was the first to ride the waves of Canale Grande in 1881 on the first water bus to cross the sea from France. This model was actually inspired by the renowned bateaux-mouches that sailed the River Seine at the time. The event triggered significant protests from the gondoliers. Since then, the water buses have ensured public transport in town. Today, they obviously have a diesel engine. However the name "vaporetto" has remained to commemorate the first water ferries that ran on steam ("vapore" in Italian). Venetians usually call them "batèi", i.e. the Italian word "battelli" for boats.