Benetti is an Italian
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
and
boat building
Boat building is the design and construction of boats and their systems. This includes at a minimum a hull, with propulsion, mechanical, navigation, safety and other systems as a craft requires.
Construction materials and methods
Wood
W ...
company based in
Viareggio
Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city within the province of Lucca, after Lucca.
It is known as a seaside resort as ...
,
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
, and
Fano
Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by popula ...
, owned by
Azimut.
Benetti designs and constructs
motoryacht
A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
s, and is one of the leading builders of custom
superyacht
A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...
s, having won the ''Showboats International'' magazine "shipyard number 1" award six times in a row, the only yard to have done so.
History
Founded in 1873,
when Lorenzo Benetti (1844–1914), bought the Darsena Luca shipyard to found the Benetti shipyard.
The yard built commercial vessels, including fishing boats and Mediterranean trading ships. On his death in 1914, his sons Gino and Emilio took over, and renamed the yard Fratelli Benetti. They continued using wooden construction, but now built ocean-going ships, and some private yachts. After the death of Gino in 1927, his sons Giuseppe and Virgilio took over his share, while Maurizio and Bertani assisted their father Emilio.
World War II
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the yard built medium-sized
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
vessels in steel, but due to highly effective bombing, the production was severely limited. After the war, and with restrictions on Italy on what she could produce militarily, the yard produced the first steel-hulled diesel powered vessel in the locality, the "Raphaelo". In 1954, Fratelli Benetti split its sailing and yacht business (Gino's family),
from the commercial ship building business which continues under the name M&B Benetti (Emilio's family). Emilio has a holding in both companies, and chairs both companies.
In 1963, Emilio died and the running of Fratelli Benetti was taken over by Gusieppe and his son Lorenzo. Lorenzo was the driver of the yacht business, moving instantly from wooden to steel construction, and designing three styles of yacht which brought the name Benetti to the world: the Delfino, the Tirreno and the Meditteraneo lines (from 18 to 33 metres). Demand for these vessels outstripped the capabilities of the yard. In 1978, the yard launched the "Viano", a sailing yacht which on corrected times won the
Admirals Cup
The Admiral's Cup was an international yachting regatta. For many years it was known as the unofficial world championship of offshore racing.
The Admiral's Cup regatta was started in 1957 and was normally a biennial event (occurring in odd-numbe ...
. In 1979, the yard launches "Nabila" for
Adnan Khashoggi
Adnan Khashoggi ( ar, عدنان خاشقجي, ‘Adnān Khāshuqjī; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his lavish business deals and lifestyle. He was estimated to have had a peak net worth ...
, which at 83 metres and 2,465 tonnes was the largest yacht of its time.
Sale to Azimut
Lorenzo died in 1980 and the company fell into financial difficulties until 1984, when it was purchased by Paolo Vitelli, the owner of
Azimut, who renamed it Benetti Shipyard.
In 1988, Benetti built a ship to challenge for the transatlantic
Blue Riband
The Blue Riband () is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest average speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. T ...
award but its efforts proved unsuccessful. The company is now part of the Azimut I Benetti group, also owner of Fraser Yachts.
Shipyards
Viareggio shipyard
Viareggio
Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city within the province of Lucca, after Lucca.
It is known as a seaside resort as ...
is the historical shipyard, in 1990 Benetti took over the 47,000sq m Lusben yard to allow the construction of both the
Azimut range up to 100 ft, and the composite Benetti range and in 1997 was vastly expanded to to allow indoor building of yachts up to 70 m. In 2003 was acquired the area of the SEC yard which went bankrupt in the previous years in order to expand the production.
Fano shipyard
The company purchased the Siar-Moschino yard in
Fano
Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by popula ...
in 1998, taking the total capacity to . The yard has a 60 m wharf in the port.
Livorno shipyard
![Livorno Benetti shipyard 03 @chesi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Livorno_Benetti_shipyard_03_%40chesi.JPG)
Azimut-Benetti acquired the
Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando
Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando (Orlando Brothers Shipyard) is a historical Italian shipyard in Livorno.
History
It was founded by Luigi Orlando and his brothers Giuseppe, Paolo and Salvatore who moved to Livorno from Genoa where in 1858 they ...
in 2003 when the
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
yard was in severe economic difficulties. The old shipyard has been partially demolished to make space for a residential and commercial area named ''Porta a Mare'' (Gate to sea), the part toward the entrance of the harbour was transformed with the construction of six huge sheds were to laid down the yachts. The Morosini slip was dismantled and was erected a
Marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
where to berth the yachts built. Benetti Livorno shipyard has a covered area of 30,000 sq m, a production area of 28,000 sq m, an open area of 130,000 sq m and a total area of 190,000 sq m.
Benetti models
![Galkynysh Yacht](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Galkynysh_Yacht.jpg)
''Benetti Tradition'' is model of traditional yachts built by Benetti Yard. With
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
hull sizes up to 99 feet, powered by the
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
C18 the maximum
speed
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...
of Benetti Tradition 99 is 15 knots.
''Benetti Classic'' is a classical yacht, with a style very similar to those of Benetti Tradition but with a larger hull size. With
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
hull sizes up to 143feet, powered by the
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
C30 with higher power of 1,650 hp (each), the maximum
speed
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...
of Benetti Classic is 16 knots.
''Benetti Vision'' is a more modern style yacht with large measurements up to 143 feet. The beauty of this
yacht
A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
is in the whole atmosphere and nice shape and exterior. Benetti Vision has two main engines of
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
3508B, with maximum power of 1,300 hp (each). This gives the yacht a maximum speed of 15 knots. This is a slightly less than Benetti Classic series, but with lower fuel consumption. The yacht is very beautiful designed interior with equipment for watersports and fishing.
''Benetti FB'' is the last series. This is the manufacturer's first series of
luxury yacht
A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...
s. Some of the names of the yachts built by Benetti in the series FB are called Amnesia, I Dinasty, Wind, Alibella and many more. All of these yachts are from the highest level of luxury, comfort and expenses.
In May 2010, Benetti yachts announced ''Benetti imagination'', which is first super yacht from Benetti's new 47 meter line. Imagination is designed by Stefano Natucci and Francois Zuretti.
In 2011 the company delivered a "Benetti Vision 145"—their 16th. It had a specification of 390 tons fully loaded.
In 2015, Benetti partnered with
Henrik Fisker
Henrik Fisker (born 10 August 1963) is a Danish automotive designer and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for designing luxury cars including the BMW Z8, Aston Martin DB9, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Fisker Karma, G ...
to launch new series of 164 ft super yachts called
Benetti Fisker 50
The Benetti Fisker 50 is a superyacht concept designed by Henrik Fisker in California, to be built by Italian boat-building company Benetti in Livorno. Fisker and Benetti announced a partnership in 2015 to design and build a series of superyachts ...
.
Superyachts
Benetti built hundreds of yachts over the years.
Below is a list of selected Benetti yachts:
Clients
Benetti have built
super yacht
A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...
s for many customers, including:
*''
Nabila Nabila, and its variant spellings Nabeela, Nabillah, a Nabeelah, is the feminine variation of the given name Nabil, meaning ''noble''. Notable people with the name include:
* Masuma Rahman Nabila, Bangladeshi film actress and model
* Nabila Eb ...
'' for
Adnan Khashoggi
Adnan Khashoggi ( ar, عدنان خاشقجي, ‘Adnān Khāshuqjī; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his lavish business deals and lifestyle. He was estimated to have had a peak net worth ...
*''
Galkynyş'' for the government of
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
, to be used as a Presidential yacht by
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957), also known as Arkadag (Cyrillic: Аркадаг, "protector"), is a Turkmen politician who served as the second president of Turkmenistan from 2006 to 2022.
A dentist by profes ...
*''Reverie'' for
Kjell Inge Røkke
Kjell Inge Røkke (born 25 October 1958) is a Norwegian billionaire businessman.
Røkke launched his business career with the purchase of a trawler in the United States in 1982, and gradually built a leading worldwide fisheries business. In 1 ...
*''
Lionheart'' for the
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
based British retail entrepreneur
Philip Green
Sir Philip Nigel Ross Green (born 15 March 1952) is a British businessman who was the chairman of the retail company the Arcadia Group. He owned the high street clothing retailers Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge from 2002 to 2020. As of Ma ...
*”Illusion V” now owned by the Mata family and also available for charter.
See also
*
Rossinavi Rossinavi, founded in 1980, is an Italian shipyard based in Viareggio and specialized in the construction of full-custom steel and aluminium superyachts.
History
The Rossi shipyard was born in 1980, when the first unlimited partnership compan ...
*
List of Italian companies
Italy is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe with the third largest nominal GDP in the Eurozone and the eighth largest in the world. As an advanced economy the country also has the sixth worldwide national wealth and it is ranked third fo ...
*
List of large sailing yachts
This article lists active sailing yachts in excess of in sparred length. This list features vessels with sails which were classed as yachts when they were launched as well as any vessels which were subsequently converted to operate with sails and ...
References
External links
{{commons category, Benetti
Official homepageBBC News Photo tour of the Benetti factory
Manufacturing companies established in 1873
Italian companies established in 1873
Companies based in Tuscany
Companies based in le Marche
Yacht building companies
Shipbuilding companies of Italy
Italian boat builders
Italian brands
Viareggio
Livorno
Fano