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Art is something that has been a foundation of Italy’s culture for countless years. Michelangelo, Vasari and Aretino are, for some, a few of the people who have given Italy its distinctive touch of culture. There are a few marques however that have created art in their own right, who have touched the exquisite senses of the famous, the royal and those with good taste.
Boats have long been a sign of wealth and exclusivity. Whether they are moving seamlessly through the Adriatic Sea or moored in Monaco, an individual’s boat says something about their character, their taste and often their place in society. Few could describe the Riva Aquarama as anything less than a nautical legend.
The Riva brand dates back to 1842, where in the small north Italian town of Sarnico, Pietro Riva began creating his boats. A century later Riva lead the world in compact racing boat creation. It was around the 1930’s when Riva ventured into the “pleasure boat” market, in response to the growing number of wealthy people who wanted their journey on water to be as comfortable as their automobiles. This was not a difficult feat for Riva to accomplish.
The quality of their boats is indefinable; at times, the amount of work that has gone into the Aquarama beggars belief. The highest quality wood, leather and engine components money could buy, built at the time for those for whom money was no object. Even today, as Aquaramas have become truly classic, prices for this type of boat are high. $200,000 would not be out of the question for a forty year-old model in need of some TLC.
Buying an original Aquarama is, in a sense, similar to joining a conservation society. One will be in no doubt that these remarkable pieces of history need exceptionally dedicated owners, with a reverent affection for the marque and a wallet wider than a Hertfordshire driveway. For the many who cannot afford this weekend luxury, there are less expensive Rivas around, most of which are smaller and, of course, less elusive. For everyone else, you’ll have to settle for the $500 dollar models that grace the fireplaces of many an admirer who just can’t forget these elegant beauties
Porsche Design Studios is bringing some Stuttgart style to the boating business with its first-ever seacraft (the waterlogged 928 in Risky Business doesn’t count). Set to debut at next week’s Miami Boat Show, the 28-foot-long high-speed cruiser is a collaboration with Florida-based upstart Fearless Yachts. “We reached out and said, ‘You have a blank canvas,’” says Fearless CEO Jeffrey Binder, and the German creatives set about designing a luxury racer that could dominate what they dubbed the “aquabahn.” The boat boasts a fiberglass hull with the sleek curves and lean silhouette of a European coupe, and its “unitized,” or seamless, construction does away with unsightly rivets that might slow it down. There’s also a 525-horsepower Viper engine that helps the craft reach a top speed of 80 mph, which may not break any world records but will make you grateful for the Latham precision steering controls. Should 28 feet (and room for five) prove insufficient for your entourage, Porsche and Fearless are expanding the line to include vessels of up to 150 feet in length, and while the prices may be steep—the 28 starts at $300,000—they have this advantage: They manage to make a 911 look like a bargain.
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Luxury yachts have always been gleaming white and mainly bear the same, elegant design features. Wally has re-written the rules altogether.
The Monaco-based boat maker’s yachts, power yachts and smaller boats all carry design characteristics utterly undreamt of until they came about. Their dark, mysterious looks are undoubtedly head-turning, their power frightening. The minimalist lines don’t give anything away; indeed they hide the yacht’s interior which, in the larger variants such as the outrageous Wallypower 118, is simply spine-tingling. It is instantly evident that design plays the lead role in these beauties. After all, any power yacht which can house a space that changes from dining room to small conference area must be special.
Wally’s boats are nothing short of prodigious. To find out just how and why these seemingly fictitious concepts of arresting design exist, I chatted with Luca Bassani, Wally’s founder, president and mastermind. Incredibly, Mr Bassani not only takes charge of the whole business, but is the brains behind every single piece of marine art that comes out of Wally’s headquarters in Monaco.
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