Celebrating Carlo Riva

Carlo Riva, who died on April 10 at the age of 95, transformed his family firm into one of the world’s most famous brands, which still remains synonymous with the glamour and luxury of la dolce vita.

- Alan Harper

Born in Sarnico on February 24, 1922, Carlo Riva was a member of the fourth generation of a boatbuilding dynasty set up on the shores of Lake Iseo near Bergamo in northern Italy in 1842. The yard first came to prominence under his father Serafino Riva in the 1930s, as a builder of one-off runabouts and racing hydroplanes. Young Carlo learned the art of boatbuilding and gained design qualifications while still in his teens. He also had ambition, and disagreed vehemently with his father’s business ideas. He took over the yard in 1949 when his father became ill.

“I lived in total opposition to him whom I saw bitterly toil to produce one boat at a time,” he explained to Gerald Guetat in a 2013 interview for Classic Boat. “The work was hard, dirty, and produced very little income, especially when making speedboats for wealthy gentlemen who rarely appreciated our efforts.”

Enthralled by the advertisements for Chris-Craft runabouts he had seen in American magazines, he resolved to reorganise his own business on production-line principles, eventually – having borrowed to the hilt – opening a new, purpose-built factory on the lakefront at Sarnico in 1954. With his deep knowledge of boatbuilding, his understanding of fast-boat naval architecture and an innate eye for style, the young entrepreneur’s pioneering efforts were quickly rewarded.

The boats were built in much the same way as other runabouts of the 1950s: mahogany frames and topsides, with plywood decks and bottoms. The difference was quality, and Carlo experimented tirelessly with glues and varnishes in an effort to ensure the longevity of his craft. In 1956, he established his own marine plywood company to manufacture bespoke panels for the yard.