ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Bucentaur

Do you remember that story where a prince gets married to a princess who's the most beautiful in all the land? A long time ago, in Italy, there was a special boat called a bucentaur that played a big part in those kinds of stories.

A bucentaur wasn't just any boat– it was special because it was used by the leaders of Venice, which was a powerful city in Italy at the time. The boat was so fancy and beautiful that it was fit for a king or queen to ride in. The whole boat was covered in gold and it sparkled in the sunshine. It even had decorations that looked like the heads of bulls on the front, which made it stand out even more.

Every year, the leader of Venice would take a ride on the bucentaur to show how important he was. Everybody in Venice would come to watch and they would wave flags and cheer. The leader would wave back and everybody felt happy because they knew they had a good leader.

But the bucentaur didn't only take the leaders of Venice on rides. Sometimes, it was used for other important things like weddings. Remember that story about the prince and the princess? If they got married in Venice, they could take a ride on the bucentaur, too. It was a really special occasion when that happened.

So, the bucentaur was a very special and pretty boat that was used by important people like the leaders of Venice. It was covered in gold and had decorations that looked like the heads of bulls on the front. People would come and watch when it took rides down the canal and sometimes, it was even used for important things like weddings.