Capri in the Sun
A red-carpet tour of the Riva factory in Sarnico culminates with a first glance at the 58 Capri.
Believe it or not, even when you have the best job in the world like I do, it’s easy to become inured. There are only so many cocktail parties in the South of France one can attend before they start getting boring. Only so many speedboats you can wheel past South Beach before you start doing the arithmetic in your head—is this trip worth the time away from home and family? So, it is not lightly that I say when I got my most recent press-event invite from Riva that my heart skipped a beat.
This was to be no ordinary work trip. I’d be attending a party at Riva’s fabled Sarnico, Italy, shipyard, flush against the shores of majestic Lake Iseo. I’d take a ride in a classic Riva Aquarama—perhaps the most well-known and dare I say iconic boat ever built. And I’d witness the unveiling of the new Riva 58 Capri, the latest offering in the builder’s Open Sport line. But most enticing of all would be how I would be getting there. The main impetus of the event was to announce Riva’s new partnership with Flexjet, the fractional jet-ownership company. And the ride from New York City (well, Teterboro, New Jersey, to be exact) to Milan would come aboard a brand-spanking-new, $78 million Gulfstream G650 equipped with Riva-themed interiors.
When I first read the invite, I texted my incredibly patient wife: “I think I have to go to Italy.” When she heard about the G6, she concurred that indeed I did have to go to Italy, but I’d be doing the kids’ bedtime by myself for the entire week after I returned.
When you take a G6 to Europe, it’s not the usual redeye service. Instead, the plane takes off at dawn, to get you to your destination on time for a late dinner and an early bedtime—a much more civilized way to travel. So it was that I arrived at Teterboro at 6 a.m. to meet the world’s first flying Riva. The jet was pristine, the service immaculate. The interiors were done in the familiar Riva mahogany with teak inlays—though because weight considerations are even more important for a plane than a boat, the veneers were shaved down to just 1/8th of an inch thick. Headrests on the seats were embroidered with Riva logos and throws for each seat were done in Riva aquamarine, also emblazoned with the brand name. Some might find it overdone, but for Riva fanatics, I think flying aboard this jet would feel like nothing less would do.
The flight experience is what you would expect from two companies that almost exclusively serve centimillionaires. Wine was poured early and unashamedly from bottles with four-digit prices. A waiter appeared and personally doled out fresh-made pasta to each guest. The bathroom was as big as the one in my house. And the cabin pressure is higher, which in turn keeps your blood-oxygen levels elevated, so the wine doesn’t go to your head quite as much, and you don’t feel as terrible when you land. It beats Delta economy, I’ll tell you that much.
When we landed in Italy, no expense was spared there, either. A night in Milan’s Bulgari Hotel was followed by a shipyard tour in Sarnico. The Riva shipyard is something of a Mecca for boat lovers, and in fact it really is a shrine. Nestled snugly among the mighty Dolomites, the yard sits at the base of cliffs so steep they appear concave from the bottom. There are photos everywhere one looks heralding the Dolce Vita age of the 1960s when Riva made its bones. La Dolce Vita is a 1960 Federico Fellini film that follows the Roman upper class during Italy’s postwar economic boom. Meant as a sly critique of the Epicurean and ultimately hollow lifestyles its characters lead, the masses (ironically) embraced the film on a fully denotative basis: Superficiality be damned, audiences wanted to live La Dolce Vita. And at the heart of all the glamorous imagery identified with the time period is the Riva Aquarama, the little wooden runabout upon which the Riva brand was built.
After touring the yard, including a hangar full of those very Aquaramas in various states of repair, I was able to get aboard one for the first time in my life. The little boat was packed with influencers taking selfies, so it wasn’t exactly the most earnest experience, but if you blocked all that out mentally, the ride was quite beautiful. The twin 350-horsepower Riva V8s rumbled, the boat’s automotive styling sparkled, and the lake shimmered gold and blue in our wake.
After the boat ride, we made the trip back to the hotel to clean up for what was promised to be a very swanky party that evening back at the yard. Riva would not disappoint. If there’s one thing these guys know how to do, it’s throw a party.
After brief opening remarks by Ferretti CEO Alberto Gallasi, I glanced to my left and saw a familiar face taking in the scene. It was 13-time Grammy-award-winning producer Pharrell Williams. I sparsely had a moment to register that when a deafening roar overtook the festivities. It was the Italian Air Force’s Aerobatic Team doing a screamingly low flyover, leaving green, red, and white chemtrails stark against the blackening mountainsides as the sun began to set.
But now the show was fully in gear, and into my line of sight slid the new Riva 58 Capri (with an opera singer in full ballroom regalia on the aft sunpad). But let’s stay focused on the mechanical diva. The 58 Capri is an evolution of the popular 56 Rivale, but one that draws stylistically more from the larger 68 Diable. The lines are expectedly low-slung and sleek, but the boat also has room for two staterooms and a crew cabin, with a garage large enough to house a Williams 325 RIB. She comes base with twin 1,000-horsepower MAN V8s, but can also be optioned with 1,200-horsepower MAN V8s that give her a top end of 37 knots, and a cruise of 33. The party was the model’s soft launch. She made her official world debut at the 2025 Cannes Yachting Festival. While I haven’t had the chance to sea trial her yet, I’m quite sure that not unlike a G6, the 58 Capri will soar.
This article originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
