Saverio Pastor was born in Venice in 1958. Between 1975 and 1980 he worked with the last of the master remèri: Giuseppe Carli, the 'forcola king', and Gino Fossetta, the 'oar wizard'. In 1980 he opened his own workshop before going on to restore a workshop near the Arsenale with the company Spazio Legno and worked there until 2001. In 2002 he opened a new workshop - LE FORCOLE - in San Gregorio near the church of the Madonna della Salute.

He makes traditional oars and forcole as well as more experimental models suited to new rowing styles. He has participated in numerous exhibitions and cultural events, including the Festival of the Sea in Bristol and the Brest Mer. His book, Forcole, an anthology of writings and photographs, was published in 2001 and presented at an exhibition at the Caffé Florian in Saint Mark's Square.

Saverio Pastor's non-Venetian clients include several American 'gondoliers', and famous architects such as I. M. Pei and Frank O. Gehry. Some of his works are used to decorate restaurants and apartments the world over.

In 2002 he founded el felze - an association of craftsmen involved in the construction of the gondola and its fittings, and articles of clothing for gondoliers.