Goodbye Engineer, and good sea on your last journey to the horizon. The world of boating all over the world greets the engineer Carlo Riva, who died today in his Sarnico at the age of 95 years.
In four letters, the history, the myth, the technique and the charm of Made in Italy boating are condensed. The story of a family and an extraordinary man, the myth of an entire era that launched Italian design in the world, from the days of the "Dolce Vita" to the present day.
A constant technical evolution has always distinguished the boats of Riva shipyards: from the timeless charm of the tradition of wood to the forefront of fiberglass and steel. In masterpieces imagined, designed, built and then inspired by the genius and style of a single man, who entered the legend.
"Carlo Riva, the greatest of all, has left us. The world loses a brilliant boat maker, a master of style, a giant in the industrial and entrepreneurial history of our Italy. I personally lose a teacher, an example of genius, commitment and love for work", Said the lawyer Alberto Galassi, Ferretti Group CEO. "The engineer taught us all what vision, creativity and passion mean. Its inexhaustible innovative energy makes it the undisputed Master of the nautical world of the twentieth century, a man whose extraordinary creations already belong to history. The boats of Carlo Riva will forever be the most beautiful in the world, a source of inspiration for all of us who feel, strongly, the responsibility to preserve and bring to the future the most important brand in the world of boating".
CARLO RIVA
Engineer Riva was not only one of the most respected and well-known entrepreneurs in the world in the field of pleasure boating. His innovations and creations have left an indelible mark on the history of costume and design, making Riva the most famous construction site of all time and the symbol of a productive and ingenious Italy.
Born in Sarnico, the 24 February 1922, in the legendary period of motor boating, at the beginning of the production of the first racing hulls, was animated from an early age by a boundless passion for boats and for the work of the yard. He joined the family business at a very young age, following in the footsteps of his father Serafino, and even before his grandfather Ernesto and his great-grandfather Pietro, founder of the company in 1842.
In the 1954, Carlo inaugurated the new futuristic yard - still protected by the Superintendency of Artistic and Architectural Heritage - and organized it with a cutting-edge production approach. In the same years he transformed the very idea of a boat: from a work tool, a means of transporting goods and passengers or a racing car into the first water races, to the object of pleasure and luxury, creating a unique product for aesthetics and function, elegance and attention to detail.
Carlo is the creator of Riva's golden age, the Maestro who transformed the brand and its boats into a status symbol, thanks to models like Ariston e Triton, Sebino e Florida, up to the "myth" Aquarama, presented in the 1962. Boats that have become objects of desire for aristocrats, actors, sports champions, businessmen and celebrities of all kinds. Among the many: Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot and Liz Taylor, Sean Connery and Jean Paul Belmondo, Richard Burton and Jackie Stewart.
In addition to royalty, princes and sheiks all over the world.
In the decades '50 and' 60, those of the Italian industrial reconstruction and the 'economic miracle', dominated by the myth of speed and the racing car, Carlo Riva sensed the spirit of the times and produced wooden boats with an unmistakable design. These nautical works of art immediately stand out for the use of precious materials, the rigorous attention to detail and the craftsmanship with which they are made.
Here is Ariston, of which the Engineer says: "Designed with love, born strong and pure like a purebred horse. Unforgettable! My lord of the sea". Founder of the motorboats and luxurious "water car", it is followed by Triton, the first twin-engine. Then it is the turn of Sebino, which inaugurates series production, and of Florida, which in the name wants to pay homage to the United States and the magic that the American state brings with it.
The boats produced under the guidance of Carlo Riva all started from a brilliant idea that anticipated a need, launching a fashion that was never an end in itself but the result of design and construction research that has always made the difference.
In the 1962, with the production of Aquarama, Riva conquered the scepter of shipyard symbol of the nautical one.
In the first year of production 21 specimens are sold, the following year the version is released Super. Aquarama remains in production until the 90 years, and the last unit, the #784, is still preserved today at the Cantiere museum, in Sarnico.
Engineer Riva once again demonstrates his entrepreneurial foresight when he creates the first fiberglass boat in the 1969, demonstrating great innovative ability while respecting traditional values.
The entrepreneurial spirit, unique and inexhaustible, is not only recognized in the boats that it realizes but also in its ability to foresee needs and opportunities.
In fact, anticipating the needs of shipowners, he designs the Riva Boat Service, born for the technical assistance and the sale. After leaving the site in the 1972, it shifts the center of its interests on the Rapallo International Tourist Port, which 25 July 1975 is dedicated to it and which since then bears its name.
In the 2005, in the Principality of Monaco, Riva's "favorite house" on the French Riviera, Albert II of Monaco awarded him the title of "Personnalité de la Mer".
Carlo Riva has never failed to give advice, closeness and support to the Riva Shipyards: with emotion he remembers his presence last spring at the debut of "Rivamare", the last masterpiece of the Sarnico shipyards.
Carlo Riva passed away peacefully in his Sarnico the 10 April 2017, perhaps, as he himself said "with a bit of nostalgia in reliving the gallop of my life as a boatman".
