Cantieri Navali Campanella started building ships on what is now the 35,000 square-metre Mondomarine Shipyard back in 1915 but in 2013 it was bought by new owners Alessandro Falcai and Roberto Zambrini, whose first order of business was drawing up a roadmap for modernising the brand. What they identified was that it would be best to keep only the design and construction units at the shipyard and transfer the commercial and marketing departments to new offices in Monaco. This they said would better concentrate key functions in the areas best suited to their operational needs.
Then, in celebration of the 100 years since its founding, Mondomarine not only unleashed a series of eye-catching launches and designs at the Monaco Yacht Show, it also capitalised on its market position by acquiring the renowned Cantieri di Pisa to allow diversification in its custom build range and to rejuvenate the legendary Akhir range.
“This is part of the development strategy of Mondomarine, which aims for leadership in the field of high-end yachts,” explained the company’s chairman and owner Alessandro Falcai. “Precisely in this sense the historical line of Cantieri di Pisa, Akhir, will be redirected towards the production of high quality, semi-displacement aluminium yachts from 30 metres and up. It is the best way to celebrate our centenary.”
Having the in-house reputation and skill base, from the cutting of the steel hull sections to the interior finishing that saw Mondomarine successfully turn out more than one over-40-metre yacht a year over the past decade, Alessandro Falcai and Roberto Zambrini’s vision was not to revolutionise or redefine Mondomarine’s purpose but to enhance the uniqueness, personalisation and customisation of its large yacht offerings to ensure the yard’s sustainable growth. And it was based on this premise that the acquisition of Cantieri di Pisa became not just possible, but advantageous. Still, drawing two brands together under a single management is never a simple matter and the key to success will be having mutual trust and a belief in a single philosophy that allows for synergies, connections and efficiencies despite separate identities and product ranges.
So how has this business vision successfully translated across into the yachts Mondomarine and Cantieri di Pisa are offering? Broadly, Mondomarine has centred its direction on three development areas, its M-Class range, Explorer and Sailing models, with the fourth being a unique collaboration with its Middle East dealer, SF Yachts of Dubai, to design an exclusive range of plum-stem yachts in the SF range.
Taking the builder-dealer relationship to a new level, the SF Line was launched last year and the first model was the SF40 M/Y Serenity, with interior styling by the owner’s wife, Bahraini designer, Fatima Ahmed Al Maidan, for SFL Design. The 42.30m all-aluminium yacht has already won the ‘Best Custom Leather Application 2015’ award from Italian leather specialist Foglizzo at the Monaco Yacht Show, not to mention being shortlisted for both the World Superyachts Awards and ShowBoat Design Awards.
Two other models presented at Monaco were avant-garde variations of its M-Class range. For the speed enthusiast, the Luiz de Basto-designed M60 SeaFalcon again draws on both Mondomarine’s philosophy of challenging design parameters and its Italian heritage to impress through sculpted visual lines and prowess. Effectively a 60-metre sports yacht, the softened dreadnought stem flows back along the coachroof like the bonnet of a Rolls Royce, until it reaches a sleeked-back glass superstructure. When at rest, a large floating beach area occupies the garage to extend the entertaining areas, while the bulwarks drop amidships to create flip down balconies that, combined with the full-opening saloon side doors, effectively enlarge and extend the living spaces over the water.
Finding innovative ways to create space, the M50 Aria accommodates up to 12 guests in six cabins, including a VIP cabin on the upper deck and the owner’s apartment forward on the main deck, along with a private gym and balcony. But this design isn’t just about bedrooms, it’s about maximising social spaces. For example, protected by a strong bulwark, the beach club stretches out from the full opening doors to the swimming platform, providing both a safe and private area for lounging, embarking to tender or even water sports.
The upper deck is also distinctive. Due to the clever glass wall folding mechanism, it is a space that can be fully closed or opened. On a hot day, the large sliding glass doors are closed and the space stays cool thanks to air-conditioning. In the evening, the glass doors can be open for guests to enjoy full exposure to the elements of the seascape.
And what of Cantieri di Pisa? It’s worth noting that Mondomarine’s passion for individuality and unique aesthetic concepts have filtered across to its new sibling. While a new Akhir 42S will resurrect the Akhir range, Cantieri di Pisa has also launched the Kitalpha 22. Admittedly very different projects, one is a contemporary interpretation of a traditional gentleman cruiser and the other a Star Wars-esque yacht of timeless elegance, they both adhere to the same dictate – to create the future you must look to the past.
The 22-metre Kitalpha 22 dates back to a successful 1965 design, which is referenced in its elegant lines and inlaid wooden detailing on the superstructure that reinterpret the traditional gentleman cruiser with sharper Corvette-style aesthetics.
As for the Akhir, Mondomarine is drawing on the timelessness of one of Cantieri di Pisa’s most popular and famous nameplates (Akhir is named after the Arabic name for the Achernar star in the Eridanus constellation) to bring back those pioneering semi-displacement cruisers, which first appeared in 1972. Thanks to the genius of Pierluigi Spadolini, an architect by profession who took his industrial design training to the yachting sector and created an enduring style of beautiful proportions, clean surfaces, never-before-seen wraparound dark-tinted window glazing and a well-integrated “roll bar”, the Akhir range enjoyed the peak of its heyday during the 1980s and 1990s, before then being relaunched under Baglietto in the late 2000s. You’ll find many of Spadolini’s exterior design cues on the new Luca Dini-designed 42S, from the dark smoked glass windows, a shark nose bow and characteristic radar hoop, which are as integral as the iconic Beetle shape was for VW’s rebirth of the classic runabout. Internally, the use of modern materials, construction and ergonomics have created an entirely different yacht, with a sky lounge (and a roof that can be raised), allowing for more socialising options on the one hand, and more privacy and space to the bow-set owner’s suite, on the other. Wood also plays a significant role in the interior palette, used for dramatic effect in finishing walls and ceilings, as well as the sole.
With one foot firmly in the past and one in the present, Mondomarine is leading the way in re-adapting beautiful boats to suit contemporary needs.
