April 13, 2026
Description
A vardo (also Romani wag(g)on, Gypsy wagon, living wagon, caravan, van and house-on-wheels) is a four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle traditionally used by travelling Romanichal as their home.
The name vardo is a Romani term believed to have originated from the Ossetic wærdon meaning cart or carriage.
It is pulled by a single horse in shafts, sometimes with a second horse (called a sider or sideliner) hitched on its right side outside the shafts to help pull heavier loads or assist in pulling up a hill.
The vehicle is typically highly decorated, intricately carved, brightly painted, and even gilded.
The Romanichal tradition of the vardo is seen as a high cultural point of both artistic design and a masterpiece of woodcrafter's art.
License:
Standard Digital File License