Committed to the sea

The great history of Italian boating owes much to Baglietto, a brand that celebrated its 170th anniversary last year. It has been a long journey during which the company built just about everything that could sail, always with style and quality. From the beginning, the drive to create and evolve, instilled by its founders, has remained constant despite changes in ownership. Leafing through the pages of its history reveals content that is nothing short of exuberant, especially when compared to even more well-known brands. The number and quality of innovations, the prominent owners, the milestones achieved.

You come from a military background, where passion is often intertwined with duty in a mix that the public doesn't always fully understand. What remains with you from those years?

That’s exactly how it is: in the Navy, passion is never separate from duty. It’s a deep, almost visceral bond, born from respect for one’s word and the commitments taken on. Those years taught me that duty is not just an obligation, but an act of consistency with oneself, a way of honoring one’s identity. The training I received in the Navy instilled in me unwavering values: respect for the sea, for its power and unpredictability, but also for its beauty and fragility. The sea cannot be dominated, it must be listened to, safeguarded. And that respect gradually became a profound passion, one that first took root during my studies at the nautical institute, grew at the Naval Academy, and later matured in the world of shipbuilding. Each stage was a piece of a journey that I would now describe as unforgettable. A journey that allowed me not only to live the sea, but to understand it, to feel part of a tradition that goes beyond time. And that is exactly what I feel the need to pass on today: the authentic values tied to the culture of the sea, to its history, to its soul. Because the sea is not just a place, it’s a way of being.

Do you find a form of pleasure in building boats?

I would describe it more as an emotion. Every boat we build carries something of ourselves, what we do, in the end, speaks of who we are, of our way of being, of our passions. That’s why, more than pleasure, I would say it’s a desire to represent and keep alive Italian style and character in the world, our greatest value, always. Building boats is not just a job: it’s a passion, a vocation, almost a form of art. Every vessel we create at Baglietto is the result of a creative and technical process that engages both mind and heart. There’s a deep satisfaction in seeing an idea take shape, in moving from sketch to reality, in witnessing excellence emerge through the collaboration of engineers, designers, artisans, and highly skilled technicians. But the real joy comes when that boat touches the water for the first time. It’s a moment filled with emotion, because we know we’re not just delivering a product, we’re delivering a dream. A unique object, tailor-made, that embodies technology, beauty, and soul. And knowing that this dream bears the Baglietto signature is a reward that makes every effort worthwhile. In the end, those who work in this field do it because they love the sea, they love the challenge of achieving perfection, and they love creating something that will stand the test of time. And that, to me, is the greatest pleasure of all.

How does it feel to see a client finally take their new boat out to sea?

It’s a moment of deep emotion and pride. Our work isn’t just about building yachts, it’s about giving shape to dreams, turning visions into tangible reality. When an owner leaves the shipyard with their new yacht, smiling, that is the true reward for us. In that moment, months, sometimes years, of work, passion, challenges overcome, and obsessive attention to detail all come together. It’s a sigh of relief, yes, but also an explosion of gratitude toward everyone who contributed to the result: engineers, craftsmen, designers, technicians. That smile is our greatest reward, because it holds the deeper meaning of what we do: creating emotions that sail the sea.

Do you own a boat yourself, perhaps a dream boat or a family one?

No, I don’t own a boat, but I’ve always seen the shipyard as the vessel entrusted to my command, and my colleagues as my crew. Every day, I follow a course that allows me to steer this ship toward new and unexplored horizons. Of course, the sea often brings surprises and unexpected storms that make navigation difficult, but a ship built with strong materials and carrying a good crew has nothing to fear.

What does it feel like to be at the helm of the Baglietto shipyard?

The story of Baglietto is closely intertwined with my own, because throughout my 35 years of experience in this industry, I’ve always seen Baglietto as an icon, an ambition, even. I knew the Baglietto shipyard since I was a young man, and never would I have imagined that one day I would become its CEO.

In your view, what are the cornerstones of Baglietto’s culture? What makes this historic brand different from others?

First of all, if I may say so, Baglietto truly belongs to our homeland, it is part of the cultural heritage and industrial tradition of Italy. Even though it is now part of the Gavio Group, we still feel the deep responsibility to carry forward this brand and the nautical and industrial reality that has long represented Italian excellence around the world. Baglietto has a rich history, it has built everything from Olympic-class boats to military vessels that even served in wartime. It’s a legacy we must always keep in mind in every project. Even when we focus on innovation, we must always respect our tradition, staying true to our pedigree, our character, and our unmistakable style.

A task that can be quite delicate.

Yes, achieving that balance isn’t always easy. That’s why, in every project we tackle, with designers first, and then internally during the engineering phase, it’s essential to keep a close eye on our historic values. The key traits of the Baglietto identity are sobriety and elegance. These are the two qualities I insist on highlighting every time we start a new project. We must find ways to interpret and express sobriety and elegance, always.

How do you do that?

It’s not easy, especially because the purer and simpler the lines of a yacht are, the more elegant they become. But the real challenge often lies in combining that clean, linear design with the yacht’s stylistic identity and technical requirements. That’s why it truly becomes a collaborative effort, four, six, even eight hands working together. Reaching the final product is the result of intense teamwork between our in-house design and technical departments, who work closely and continuously with external designers until the final definition of the yacht is achieved. Moreover, in many ways, Baglietto has always been a highly innovative brand.

The history of the shipyard speaks for itself.

We’ve always built fast boats, both sail and motor, like those we built for Gianni Agnelli. This drive for innovation is still very much present today, in a time when every product also lives through technological evolution. Today, technology moves faster than it did in the past, and we must keep up, because our products and platforms need to be continuously updated to stay aligned with new technological demands. This is therefore a continuous effort, it doesn’t end with a single line of yachts, which on average has a life cycle of about ten years. Each year, we must review and upgrade our designs to integrate the latest technologies.

Are there any memorable moments in this great history that stand out to you?

In the 1950s and ’60s, Baglietto introduced a new way of building boats and marketing them, with the famous ‘islands’ concept. Then, certainly in the 1980s, the launch of the truly innovative line designed by architect Aldo Cicero marked a key moment. Those were years when speed was paramount, and this theme was pushed to the extreme. At that time, Baglietto was perhaps ten to fifteen years ahead of other shipyards technologically. Cicero made the Baglietto style unmistakable and unique, giving it a distinctive character. Then came the shift to aluminum construction, a technique we imported from the United States, where members of the Baglietto family had studied and learned these aeronautical construction technologies. There are also the hull designs by Paolo Caliari, which made history, being ultra high-performance both with jet propulsion and with propellers.

Among the key designers is also Francesco Paszkowski.

I recognize in Francesco the great talent of having expressed the entire Baglietto DNA through his designs. For over 35 years, he has always managed to interpret our brand’s design in the right way. The latest success was the T52, of which about ten units have already been built. With its contemporary, elegant, and sober lines, it won the client’s heart even before seeing the finished boat. Among recent successes, I also want to mention the DOM 133 series by Stefano Vafiadis, also built in about ten units.

What is your relationship with innovation?

I don’t consider myself an inventor of new technologies, even though we were among the first to work on sustainability with hydrogen. We build naval platforms that must be designed today with tomorrow in mind, open to further development. So, having chosen green hydrogen, we are already planning all our platforms with the capability to store hydrogen on board. I would say that this is our real challenge: figuring out how to safely accommodate new fuels and propellants on board. I believe we will start seeing the first results soon.

What are the latest news from Baglietto?

Last year, we presented the evolution of the T52, the T54, and we are also building the top-of-the-line model, a 60-meter maxi yacht called the T60, which incorporates many innovations, and two units have already been sold. We are also building the first model in the Fast line: a 50-meter boat, with three decks and four engines of 2,600 horsepower each. This yacht will reach a top speed of about 30 knots and cruise at 28 knots. Then, still around the 50-meter size, we have a fast displacement yacht that leans towards long-range navigation, perhaps improperly called the X50. This is a product that essentially does not exist in the market at these volumes, and we believe there is definitely interest. In reality, it is a vessel designed for long voyages with long endurance and on-board living autonomy, made for the type of owner who truly wants to explore the world, for a discerning client, one who seeks to rediscover new scenarios, new coasts, and new shores. We have designed a deck above the pilothouse that becomes an observatory where the owner will have the opportunity to manage technological instruments such as drones to preview the places they will visit.