Salone Nautico is Genoa’s answer to Monaco, a scaled down yacht show with a local focus

Genoa’s Salone Nautico is not the boating industry’s largest showcase – that title is held by its rival to the west, the Monaco Yacht Show, which follows it by scarcely a week every September. But the more modestly-scaled, mainly domestic-market exhibition in the ancient Mediterranean port city has a few very important things going for it, especially for design enthusiasts: for one thing, it’s a distant cousin of Milan’s Salone del Mobile, and draws on some of the same organisational firepower (Salone president Maria Porro has been a regular attendee and design-prize judge).

More importantly, while Monte Carlo may have the bigger boats, Genoa gets a more diverse pool of exhibitors, who show up with a wider array of oddball and innovative gear for the maritime trade. As an added plus, the whole operation takes place on the Levante waterfront, part of Renzo Piano’s (still-ongoing) redevelopment scheme for his beloved hometown. Intriguing, occasionally glamorous, always authentic, the offerings at this year’s 65th Salone Nautico were a perfect match for Genoa itself.

SaloneNautico.com, @SaloneNauticoGenova

1. Azimut Grande 30M

Of course, there are some things at Salone Nautico meant to appeal to the ultra-luxe, yacht-world connoisseur. The Azimut Grande 30 is one such vessel: appearing for the first time in Genoa, the boat isn’t quite a ‘superyacht’ in formal term (at a shade under 29 metres, it’s slightly short of the customary threshold) but it is nothing if not spacious, featuring five passenger cabins with an additional three for crew. There’s plenty of sophisticated onboard gear to please the big-boat cognoscenti – in particular a bridge with an unusually sleek, nearly buttonless command interface.

What gives the Grande 30M special appeal is the subtle interior treatment from Milan design studio m2atelier, a studio known for its high-end commercial interiors that has lately seen increasing demand in the maritime sector. Following on from the studio’s recent Grande Trideck, the team created a soft, peaches-and-cream palette for the living spaces, much of it rendered in soft leather finishes that even peek out, semi-obscured, under the up-lit marble stairs down to the lower deck.

‘The yacht embodies the essence of 'barefoot luxury,'’ says m2atelier’s co-founder Marijana Radovic, referring to Azimut's signature lifestyle concept. ‘It's a design that transcends opulence.’

AzimutYachts.com, @Azimut_Yachts, AzimutBenetti.com

m2atelier.com, @m2atelier

2. EurekArt series doorknobs by F.lli Razeto & Cazareto

As the current head of his 105-year-old family firm, Giangi Razeto has brought his personal enthusiasm for art and sculpture to what might seem a rather niche field – the design and manufacture of door handles and other hardware specifically for the maritime market. The firm worked on the Andrea Doria, a celebrated showpiece of contemporary Italian design which included pieces by Molteni and Gio Ponti, and sank, tragically, in 1956.

Razeto & Cazareto has been making exquisite locks, hasps, and knobs; though suitable for landlubber use, their strength and soft contours make them ideal for the high seas, making them a fan favorite among in-the-know owners. ‘It’s totally different in the maritime industry,’ says Giangi Razeto. ‘All the locking parts have to be anti-corrosive, and the doors have to be shut absolutely closed when they closed.’

At Salone Nautico, Razeto carried forward the company’s decades-old tradition for functional as well as aesthetic quality with his brand-new EurekArt series: displayed alongside striking seascape images from photographer Claudio Columbo, the hand-crafted brass handles had a suitably hard-working look to them, gristled and grooved and with handsome weathered patinas.

@Razetocasareto

3. Apreamare Gozzo 48 Cabin

For those who want a little offbeat, echt Italian design, as well as a bit of luxury, you could hardly do better than the legacy builder Apremarea’s Gozzo 48 Cabin, which made its Italian debut in Genoa this September. Since 1849, Apreamare has specialized in gozzi, the rounded, almost cuddly-looking boats that have been a longtime favorite with yacht enthusiasts throughout the southern riviera. ‘It has a feeling of soul,’ says Apreamare’s Corrado Del Fanti, ‘it’s not like other boats you often see.’

The Gozzo 48 shows exactly what he means: at 14.7 meters, it’s nowhere near superyacht scale, yet it feels remarkably playful as well as surprisingly roomy, its lower deck is spacious enough to accommodate three cabins. The interiors from designer Marco Casali are light, white and breezy, and the captain’s chair doubles as a longue, allowing owners to turn into operators and back again in a flash. Long seen as an Italian boat lover’s Italian boat, the Gozzo may soon be popping up elsewhere—Apreamare recently took on a major new investment partner, increasing their reach worldwide.

Apreamare.it, @Apreamare

4. Polyform

There was nothing new in the Genoa display from Norwegian company Polyform - and that’s just the point. Represented at Salone Nautico by longtime local nautical distributors Pio F. Balbi, the Nordic makers of buoys and fenders have been producing their rubbery wares according to the same proprietary formula since 1955.

‘The recipe is a secret,’ said Balbi’s Carlotta Gianni. ‘But it makes it very strong and also lightweight.’ Just the thing from keeping your very expensive yacht from wrecking against the pier, the fenders also happen to be incredibly striking objets d’art: lined up in the Balbi booth, near a handsome new dinner set from Mag Marine (the plates connected by boat-friendly magnetic inserts), the Polyform collection looks like it wouldn’t be out of place in a high-end interior, or at least an incredibly chic seafood restaurant.

Polyform.no, @PolyformNorway

5. Ohoskin plant-based leather

Another only-in-Genoa highlight, the Salone Nautico’s innovation-focused startup wing features emerging Italian brands with an array of wares that may (they hope) have application in the maritime space. One example: six-year-old Ohoskin, who have patented an eco-friendly process to turn orange and cacti fibres—two plants in which their island home of Sicily happens to be rather abundant—into a synthetic leather durable enough for a life at sea.

‘It’s not only for the maritime industry,’ says brand co-founder Stefano Mazzetti. ‘But in this sector, there’s a lot of innovation being oriented towards sustainability.’ Grinding up the cast-off agricultural waste, the company mixes the resulting powder with an organic resin, then lets the syrupy blend dry out and uses a ridged mould to create a variety of different grain options.

The resulting material can take a beating from the wind and salt air yet has a richness of feel and colour that seems at least as good as any non-natural synthetic. For the vegan superyacht owner, it could be the last word in cruelty-free opulence.

Ohoskin.com, @Ohoskin_brand