ITALIAN JOB

The Sangermani-built ketch Sahib, built in the dolce vita of 1950s Italy, has just been given a five-year rebuild

- SAM HAMILTON

The ketch Sahib, built on the Ligurian coast by the boatbuilding Sangermani brothers Cesare and Piero, comes from a boatyard very close to the heart of Italian sailors, Sangermani, but before you can even understand the yard, you need to consider the era that her build was set in. This was Italy in the 1950s, undergoing an economic and cultural transformation so profound that it has since been referred to as a miracle. Today, we often refer to that period as the ‘dolce vita’ (sweet life) years, forgetting just what a change Italy underwent in the 50s and 60s.