ICONIC DESIGN : Riva Aquarama
The Riva Aquarama is nothing less than a nautical legend.
The myth was born in november 1962...
In the decade of the Italian industrial revolution, dominated by the myth of speed and racing cars, L'ingegnere, as Carlo Riva is called, sensed the importance of this phenomenon and created a series of wooden yachts characterized by unique, unmistakable design features.
Over the course of 34 years of production between 1962 to 1996, 768 units have been produced in 4 variants ; the Aquarama, the Aquarama Lungo, the Super Aquarama and the Aquarama Special. Only 7 Aquarama Lungo has been built.
Through Italian craftsmanship, peerless performance and superlative beauty, the Riva Aquarama has been called before ''the Ferrari of the seas''. Engine wise, power ranged from 185hp to a more substantial 400hp and top speed hits over 40 knots.
The first Riva Boatyard was established in 1842 on lake Iseo, in Sarnico - Italia.
The story says that after a fierce and devastating storm, to boats of many local fishermen were severly damaged and left them helpless. One young shipbuilder and craftsman who had just moved from Laglio, near Como, saw the opportunity and performed a true miracle to repair most of the crafts. Thus winning the trust of the locals, this was the beginning of the legend of Riva and it's founder, Pietro Riva. Lake Iseo was the place where the first riva boats were designed and created and they immediately stood out for their style and personality.
Later on, the business continued to flourish thanks to Ernesto Riva who had succeeded his father and introduced internal combustion engines on Riva boats. After WWI, Serafino Riva gave Riva products their final imprinting and turned the Boatyard's precious craft into what it is today. The brand steered from transportation to power boating. Through it's participation in yacht racing in the 1920-1930's, Riva collected a large number of records and victories in national and international competitions.
The 1950's were the years of designer Carlo Riva (1922-2017), creator of the Aquarama.
Riva had by then become synonym of Elegance, Status and Perfection. Riva was the object of desire for the aristocracy, award winning athletes, successful businessmen and movie stars.
Riva is now owned by Ferretti Group, an italian multinational shipbuilding company headquartered in Forli, Italy. Over the last 13 years, they have built over 15 models across 3 distinct product segments, ranging between 27 and 164 feets.
Together with the Ferretti group, Riva have managed to keep it's craftsmanship, unmatchable quality and innovative designs. The Officina Italiana Design works on all projects to keep a classical, essential clean design style, where the keyword is 'removing' not 'adding', where innovation meets and develops in harmony with a tradition which has become legendary.