How These Italian Artisans and Furniture Makers Give Yachting a Rich Interior Life

There’s a reason that many of the world’s most sought-after watches are made in Switzerland, that Paris may be the center of haute couture and that Japan is top-of-mind for lacquer-ware: The craftsmanship that rests at the heart of each of the disciplines enjoys an extended history in its respective region.

The same holds true in Italy, where shipyards depend on the work of local furniture makers, tanneries and other artisans to ensure their cabins stand out. It’s a tradition that has long differentiated Italian yachts from their global competitors. “The reason why the Chinese and the Japanese [ship]yards-and they have great yards- have never managed to break right into the [yacht] market is as a result of the industrial ecosystem that you find mostly in the north of Italy,” says Barbara Muckermann, chief marketing officer of luxury cruise line Silversea, which is based in Monaco. “It’s absolutely incredible, the sort of workmanship there. Nobody really can replicate it yet.”

But while we’ve all heard about the Benettis and the Rivas of the world, lots of the Italian artisans who make bespoke furniture and objects for these yachts are relative unknowns. Here, a look at four such producers. They could toil behind the scenes, but their work is nothing if not scene-stealing.

Yachtline 1618
The interiors firm Yachtline 1618 has two production sites on the outskirts of Pisa, both which you are invited to visit via helicopter. “Our factories are equipped with helipads where our clients can land,” says owner and CEO Fiorenzo Bandecchi. And there’s justification to help make the trip: Yachtline creates a 1:1 replica of each boat’s interior at its facilities before shipping, so both yacht owner and shipyard know exactly what the final product will look like before everything is formally installed. “They revolutionized the production method by reserving more than 16,000 square meters [173,000 square feet] of their facilities for mock-ups,” says Vincenzo Poerio, CEO of Tankoa Yachts, who has collaborated with Yachtline on about 50 projects in the course of his career. “In this manner, the client can check every single detail of the inside of his yacht.”

Yachtline is employed to unusual requests: For one project with shipbuilder Perini Navi, the dog owner wanted a distinctive look, so he needed that the interiors feature titanium, a metal commonly used for reinforcement in military vessels. Bandecchi and his team incorporated the strong material into finishes and furniture, from the ceilings and cabin doors to 1 of the dining tables. The ultimate product, the practically 230-foot Badis, is the largest sailing yacht ever made in Italy. Its unique oak, leather and titanium design earned it the very best Interior award at the Monaco Yacht Show. A significant accolade, but the one which hasn’t gone to management’s head: For Bandecchi, Yachtline’s work remains as straightforward an activity as ever. “Your client comes with a design, and it’s our duty to create that right into a reality,” he says simply.

Rubelli
There’s careful record keeping, and then there’s Rubelli’s textile archive. The company, which has experienced the fabric business for over a century, maintains a collection of a lot more than 7,000 historic samples, some dating to the late 15th century. Housed in Venice, this trove often serves as inspiration for new creations. “We always begin from a thing that machines can’t craft,” says Nicolò Favaretto Rubelli, the co-CEO. “Maybe an old-fashioned fabric, maybe an artwork. It requires to have this artisanal, handcrafted effect.” From there, technology gets control. Fabrics are created at Rubelli’s mill in Cucciago with electronic jacquard looms, that assist speed up the procedure. But if you’d prefer things done the old-fashioned way, which can be arranged: The business possesses four restored handlooms from the late 18th century.

Rubelli has worked with a long set of shipbuilders through the years, including Rossinavi, CRN and Overmarine, a résumé which has led to quite the next. “It really is no coincidence that brand is known abroad, since it is distributed in the most exclusive showrooms in Europe and beyond,” says Sergio Buttiglieri, style director at Sanlorenzo Yachts. “The fantastic care it requires in processing its yarns makes Rubelli truly unique.”

The firm is versatile with regards to what it could design, though in the yacht sector it’s most widely known for high-performance fabrics. Both beautiful and practical, these textiles, which are popular in blue to complement the surrounding waters, can often be used indoors and out. Rubelli also offers its furniture line, a catalog which includes chairs, tables, sofas and lighting. Or you can go completely bespoke, just as you'll for your living room at home-which, as it happens, Rubelli may also design for you personally. “A yacht is known as a villa floating on the ocean,” says Marco Attisani, director of Studio Rubelli, the company’s interior-design division. “There is no substantial difference between your two.”