Riva is a truly legendary Italian brand that has defined the attitude of many generations of yachtsmen and has been repeatedly praised by the cinema. The history of the shipyard began in 1842 on lake Como, where Pietro Riva searched and repaired boats broken by the storm and abandoned by the owners. Quickly creating a reputation as a great master, he began to design and build their own ships, mainly fishing: yachting in its modern sense in Italy was not yet.
In 1880, the management of the shipyard took one of the sons of Pietro-Ernesto Riva. He further expanded the business, establishing the production of cargo and passenger ships, and began to install them for the first time internal combustion engines. The representative of the third generation-Serafino Riva-was fond of water-motor racing. Having stopped the production of commercial ships, he concentrated on what he loved most. In the period between the two world wars, he built many speedboats: not only sold them to customers, but also chased himself. In those years, the boat Riva took many awards in national and international competitions, but the winning streak was interrupted by the Second World war.
In the difficult post-war time buyers for expensive and fast custom-cars were almost gone, and the son of Serafino — Carlo Riva — decided to change everything. Being in love with the American brand Chris Craft, which then mass — produced "gentlemen's boats" - stylish pleasure boats, Carlo, after a terrible scandal with his father, went to America to get suitable for serial boats engines, to introduce the methods of production of Chris Craft and move the idea of "gentleman's boats" in Europe.
So the 50s became the Golden age of Riva. Elegant and fast mahogany boats filled the Cote d'azur, becoming a mandatory toy aristocrats, millionaires, movie stars and members of the Royal families. The most famous models of that time were Aquarama, Junior, Ariston and Olympic. Many of them are not just preserved, but still exploited, serving as a source of pride and collectibles.
In the late 60's Carlo Riva sold the company to the American Corporation Whittaker, which began production is not wooden, and fiberglass models. Later, the Riva brand was owned by Rolls Royce. To the 80-th yacht Riva has grown in size and has not resembled the products of the 50s. By the end of XX century, after a regular series of resales, the Riva became a major Italian holding company of the Ferretti Group, who managed not only to revive but also to increase the glory of the legendary brand. Designer Mauro Michele has found a new design language, unlike anything else, and the rich heritage of the shipyard has allowed to embody his ideas at the peak of luxury.
Opened in 2003, the new shipyard In La Spezia was already designed for the production of much larger yachts. The length of the production models Riva long ago crossed the 100-foot mark, and in 2014 Ferretti Group announced the beginning of construction of superyachts Riva of light alloy at one of the shipyards of the group in Ancona. For this purpose, two design platforms were developed: one is based on the historical heritage of Riva, the other is distinguished by sports lines. Within both series custom yachts of 50, 60, 70 and 90 m length can be built.
However, Riva also does not forget about its history, continuing to produce much more compact, but incredibly stylish models such as Iseo, Aquariva Super, Rivamare or Rivale. Still, for real "gentlemen's boats" size does not matter.
