OFFICINA ITALIANA DESIGN CELEBRATES 21 YEARS IN BUSINESS WITH THE LAUNCH OF THREE NEW RIVA MODELS AND A NEW OFFICE IN MIAMI.
Officina Italiana Design, the pen behind all of the famous Riva boats, celebrates its 21st anniversary with a slew of new projects of which it is particularly proud. The early months of 2015 brought the launch of two new Riva models: the 88’ Florida and the 88’ Domino Super. Both yachts splashed this spring and were given their world premiere at the Monte Carlo in May.
Needless to say, they will also at the upcoming Cannes Boat Show (September 8-13) where they will be joined by the new 76’ Coupé. Having rewritten the rules of styles, all the three models set new benchmarks in terms of both comfort and performance.
“We in Officina Italiana Design are genuinely proud of our achievements and the solutions we produced for these three models in collaboration with the Ferretti Group’s engineers and designers,” says Mauro Micheli, designer and cofounder of the Bergamo-based studio. “By that I mean, in particular, the elegant hull shape, the new standards of comfort attained and the use of light, as well as the colour contrasts in both the interiors and exteriors. We always endeavour to design sophisticated, timeless craft in line with our concept of style and with what this historic brand represents: it is, after all, a yachting icon.”
Mauro Micheli has been collaborating with Riva since 1984. Through Officina Italiana Design, the studio he cofounded with Sergio Beretta, he has been exclusively responsible for the design of the exterior lines and interiors of [highlight color=”yellow”]all the Riva models launched since 1994[/highlight]. This year, the range will be boosted by the new series of 50-metre-plus megayachts, presented at the 2014 Monaco Yacht Show.
A second piece of good news from the studio concerns the Officina Italiana Design headquarters: the two partners recently flanked their main studio, located in a beautifully frescoed, art-infused 19th century palazzo in just outside the old centre of the charming city of Bergamo Alta, with a new office at the Ferretti Group’s American headquarters in Miami, Florida.
“The Miami office is the result of the strengthening of the relationship of great mutual esteem we enjoy with the Ferretti Group,” declared Sergio Beretta, cofounder of Officina Italiana Design. “Alberto Galassi (the Ferretti Group CEO) demonstrated his complete faith in us in working alongside us on the relaunch of a historic brand. We feel this means that he realised the potential of the brand, a brand that has more to do with lifestyle than boating. A brand in which we here at Officina Italiana Design have always believed and which has as-yet-untapped potential for success. We’ll be spending three months of the year at the Miami office. That means completely changing our day-to-day routine. It’ll be a kind of annual shake-up. But it will also introduce plenty of new stimulus through our exposure to the international atmosphere in Miami and it will bring us into direct contact with American owners too.”
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[toggle title=”Mauro Micheli (Yacht Designer)” state=”close”]Mauro Micheli was born in Adrara San Martino, Bergamo, in 1959. He graduated from the High School for the Arts in Bergamo and then attended the prestigious Brera Art Academy in Milan. After winning a Riva competition, he was taken on by the yard as an assistant in the technical office in 1984. A decade later, Micheli began consultancy work, co-founding his own design studio, Officina Italiana Design, with Sergio Beretta. He cites his main sources of inspiration as classical and contemporary art. [/toggle]
[toggle title=”Sergio Beretta (Chief Executive)” state=”close”]Born in 1968, Sergio Beretta grew up in Brescia in the North of Italy. He holds a degree in business and marketing and in 1994 was also awarded a Master’s in European Law. He began his career in the aeronautical sector as the station manager in various European airports. He shares a passion for contemporary art and design with Mauro Micheli.
