Pietro Riva
It all began with Pietro Riva, who was born in Laglio (near Como) in 1822, a century before the legendary Carlo Riva. Pietro learnt the art of carpentry from his father and the shipbuilders in the Como area.
In the spring of 1842, an opportunity arose that would change his fate forever. After a severe storm in northern Italy, a fisherman from Sarnico came to Lake Como, met Pietro and recognised his skills, so he commissioned him to repair his boats.
And so twenty-year-old Pietro Riva set off on the adventure that would change his life. He travelled to Sarnico and began repairing the damaged boats in an industrial hall on the River Oglio. All under the curious and attentive gaze of the locals, who quickly learnt to appreciate the young outsider's skills. So much so that many of them soon began to commission him to repair their boats and build new ones.
His first commissions included a fishing boat - known as a "naet" - and a dinghy in the Como style, i.e. in the version of the famous "Inglesina", which was built in the Como area. One commission led to another and Pietro settled permanently in Sarnico, where he started his family.
Ernesto Riva
Only one of his children - Ernesto - inherited the intense passion for boats and experimented with different types of propulsion, including the then still new combustion engines. This is how he came up with the idea of the motorboat and, together with his father, founded the first Riva boatyard on Lake Iseo around 1860 in a shed called Tesone because of its tin roofing ("tesa" in Italian).
In addition to the small fishing boats and dinghies, large passenger boats could now also be launched. One of the first and most important projects was a steam-powered boat for transporting goods and at least 25 passengers, which was commissioned by a businessman from Como. The workforce grew from four to ten employees and the shipyard developed into a real company.
Serafino Riva
In 1907, Serafino Riva took over the management of the shipyard and continued where his father had left off, but he laid the foundations for a major turning point: Racing boats. As today, racing offered the opportunity to experiment with materials and technologies that were then successfully used in leisure boats.
After the First World War, at the beginning of the twentieth century, motor boaters developed into an elite of increasingly active and passionate enthusiasts. Serafino was fascinated by speed on the water and was involved in the development of the first outboard motor. As a result, the shipyard stopped building large vessels in the 1920s and focussed exclusively on racing boats. Serafino quickly became the benchmark for all the top powerboat racers of the time. It wasn't long before he began working with Ole Evinrude, the inventor of small, light and inexpensive outboard engines, to build his first racing boat. Serafino himself took part in numerous races, both as a designer and as a driver. He also put together a team of drivers, including Giudo Paglia, Carillo Pesenti and Giuseppe Guerino.
The 1930s began with an astonishing victory in what was considered the most interesting and difficult race in the world: from Pavia to Venice, a distance of 431 kilometres on the treacherous Po river. This success cemented the shipyard's reputation and Serafino continued to perfect the production process. In collaboration with the designer Gerolamo Caviglia, he built six single-seater hulls between 1934 and 1938. The first of these, "Sans Atout", was intended for Augusto Valtolina, who set the world speed record in racing in August 1934 with a speed of 107.685 kilometres per hour. Five months later, in January 1935, the same boat was renamed "Giovinezza" and sold to Ferdinando Venturi. Venturi also won the race with a speed of 109.725 km/h.
The end of the 1930s brought Riva an uninterrupted series of victories, records and titles, with Riva boats taking first place in the rankings in all outboard motor classes from 250 cm³ to 1,000 cm³. The top European drivers in the Outboard Racing category (X-1000 class) were the brothers Augusto and Renzo Romani, who competed with an impressive five Riva motorboats. From the 1930s to the 1950s, they achieved a total of 104 victories and 40 top-three finishes, won six European and eleven Italian championships and set two world records.
With the beginning of the Second World War, however, the fame, success and enthusiasm for racing collapsed - temporarily.
Carlo Riva
After the war and post-war years, Serafino's eldest son Carlo took over the family business in 1949 at the age of 27 and designed his boats in the style of the open motorboats of the American brand Chris-Craft. In 1950, he was officially put in charge of the Riva shipyard.
In the decade following the Second World War, which was dominated by industrial reorganisation in Italy and the myth of speed and racing cars, Carlo understood the spirit of the times and began producing wooden boats with an unmistakable design in the 1950s.
The racing boats were joined by the first runabouts and the next step was series production: Corsaro (1946), the first boat; Ariston (1949), the progenitor of the brand's motorboats; Tritone (1950), the first twin-engine boat; Florida, whose name pays homage to the United States and magical Florida. The boats produced under the direction of Carlo Riva anticipated demand and set fashion trends, fuelled by a unique and timeless focus on details that set them apart from other brands.
In 1956, L'Ingegnere, as Carlo Riva was also known, began working with the designer and architect Giorgio Barilani, whose graphic and design expertise became typical of Riva. He made a decisive contribution to the creation of the legend when he presented the Aquarama at the third Milan Boat Show in 1962, which immediately developed an irresistible appeal and became a "brand within the brand". It managed to set new standards. Since then, the new trademarks have been found in the seamless, deep red mahogany panelling made from a single mahogany tree, powerful inboard engines with the typical rich sound, lots of polished chrome, the panoramic windscreen, a classic dashboard with a white steering wheel, white leather seats and a padded sunbathing area behind them. The Aquarama was the motorboat that was first trialled by the young Gianni Agnelli and became the symbol of Riva to this day. The name of the boat was inspired by American "Cineramas", experimental wide-screen cinemas. In 1963, 21 Aquaramas were delivered. The Super version was developed the following year, followed by the Special version in 1971. 765 Aquaramas were produced, including 306 Aquaramas (1962-1971), 175 Aquarama Super (1963-1971), 7 Aquarama Lungos, and 277 Aquarama Specials (1971-1996).
During this time, Riva embodied Italian excellence throughout the world and was a favoured brand of the international jet set. The choice of fine materials, the meticulous care and attention to detail and craftsmanship made the boats objects of desire for kings and queens, actors, businessmen and champions. Carlo Riva also moved with the times in 1969 when he decided to build the first boat made of fibreglass. At the same time, he founded the Riva Boat Service to sell his boats and offer technical support to owners. Nevertheless, a rupture occurred that year, heralding the end of the family business.
Due to trade union unrest, Carlo finally sold the shipyard to the US company Whittaker in September 1969. However, he remained chairman and managing director for two years and handed over the reins to his brother-in-law Gino Gervasoni, his partner since 1950, in 1971. After Carlo left the shipyard in 1972, he shifted his interests to the Porto Turistico Internazionale di Rapallo (International Marina of Rapallo), which was named after him on 25 July 1975. In 2005, he was honoured in the Principality of Monaco, Riva's "home" on the Côte d'Azur, by Alberto II of Monaco with the title "Personnalité de la Mer". Carlo Riva died on 10 April 2017 in Sarnico, perhaps "with a touch of nostalgia for a great life that he lived to the full; at high speed and surrounded by boats", as he himself used to say.
Stories behind the stories
Carlo Riva - Racing driver against his will
Carlo Riva had many high-profile successes, but one sporting one is less well known than the others. It was in 1953, after Carlo had taken over the management of the shipyard and decided to close the racing department. That year, at the time of the traditional Sebino Powerboat GP, he received a visit from Gianni Sironi, a journalist from the Gazzetta dello Sport and motorboat expert. Sironi asked him about the "Tritone", the new and unusually fast Riva runabout. Carlo told him that it was supposed to have a top speed of 70 kilometres per hour.
Sironi pointed out to him that the world speed record for this category (International Run-about, Class 1) had so far been under 70 km/h, so it was almost a moral obligation to try and break it. Carlo had never attempted it before and, as he himself once admitted, this kind of experience did not particularly excite him. The record attempt took place at the end of October during the "Record Week" organised by the Italian Motorboat Association on a track in front of the Riva shipyard as a tribute to Serafino Riva.
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The Tritone did not disappoint: Carlo broke the world record with a speed of 75.15 km/h and set new long distance (24 miles) and hour records.
The "Zoom" - from the Riva to the racing boat
Carlo Riva and Carlo Rossi, then technical director of the Riva Monaco Boat Service, ventured to transform an Aquarama into a racing boat in 1972. The aim was to take part in a boat race from England to Monaco organised by the Offshore Powerboat Club of Great Britain. It was a crazy, almost impossible endeavour, but the talent and tenacity of Carlo Riva and Carlo Rossi and his son Gianfranco transformed a 1970 Aquarama Super, the "Zoom", into a seaworthy racing boat. A number of technical changes were made, such as moving the cockpit aft to make room for an additional fuel tank in the foredeck and to reduce the strain on the driver's back due to the lower impact forces in rough seas. Most important was the installation of more competitive engines. The choice fell on two 350 hp Crusader petrol engines. Initially, the Offshore Powerboat Club of Great Britain was not prepared to allow the Aquarama Super to race on the grounds that it was not technically competitive. However, the "Zoom" was eventually given permission to start, with Gianfranco Rossi at the helm.
When the boat reached Marbella in Spain during the race, it turned out that the fuel tanks had to be replaced due to cracked weld seams, as there was a risk of explosion during the journey.
Carlo Riva managed to install two new 200-litre tanks that same evening. After endless problems, the "Zoom" was fully operational again at two o'clock in the morning in Puerto Banús in Marbella and was able to complete its extraordinary performance.
She took first place in her category with an hour-long lead over her competitors and second place overall behind the offshore racing boat of English driver Bellamy.
Carlo Riva could never have imagined achieving such an outstanding result and he always remembered with emotion the moment when Gianfranco Rossi entered the quay in Monte Carlo with his fellow adventurers Ettore Andenna and Renato Mazzazzi.
They had accomplished an extraordinary feat, showing the whole world the remarkable seaworthiness and reliability of the Aquarama.
La Plancia - the command bridge
In 1965, Carlo Riva decided to expand the shipyard in Sarnico to include a prestigious office. The result was "La Plancia" - "The Bridge", a project inspired by a ship's bridge, designed by Carlo Riva himself in collaboration with architect Giorgio Barilani, the successful Aquarama duo.
When Carlo left the shipyard in 1971, he signed a clause that allowed him to use his beloved "La Plancia" for another ten years. Until a few years before his death, he kept coming back to the office and was happy to spend a few hours in his "driver's seat" again.
You can find out more about Riva in the new coffee table book from Delius Klasing:
