Five-star luxury at all-new Porto Carlo Riva

The iconic Porto Carlo Riva marina in Rapallo, Italy has undergone radical change. While remaining close to its roots, it is now open to the evolving nature of yachting tourism and ready to face future environmental challenges. Donatella Zucca reports

Founded in 1975, privately-owned Porto Carlo Riva soon became established as a high-end tourist port with a reputation that gained in strength year on year until a freak hurricane came knocking in 2018. The ferocious storm wrecked the Italian coastline between Rapallo and Portofino and totally destroyed the marina, tearing up its breakwaters and ripping through the marina basin and surrounding port infrastructure.
Despite a multitude of problems and expenses, Italian property investment firm Bizzi & Partners started work to rebuild the breakwaters and redevelop infrastructure and property. A public interest enterprise also set about making the town of Rapallo safe and enhanced its tourist appeal. Architectural design studio Tectoo, via its founder Susanna Scarabicci, designed the port architecture and Savarese Costruzioni e Sales, commissioned by Bizzi & Partners via tender, was responsible for the construction works. In all, the project cost €70 million, over half of which went towards rebuilding the breakwater. The rebuild of all defensive structures for the marina and the city was completed at the end of 2022, and in February 2023 the wave bulkhead test certificate was obtained.
In addition to being imposing and cutting-edge, the new 400m (1,310ft) long breakwater greatly exceeds legal requirements. Comprising 1,600 tetrapods, each weighing 20 tonnes, and 200,000 tonnes of rocks, its mantle extends for tens of meters into the sea and its wave wall rises 7m (23ft) above sea level.
Smaller than before and even more exclusive, the new marina has 250 berths instead of its original 400 but can accommodate vessels up to 60m (197ft) at nine docks and protected piers. All berths have direct pump-out points for bilge water and sewage; vehicles can be parked in a new underground car park; and services, such as nautical brokerage, boat handling and Customs clearance are available. Over 200 new jobs have been created across the site.
In order to respond to the changing needs of the nautical market, the region and the consequences of any change in climate, Bizzi & Partners has created a service port that is amongst the most modern in the Mediterranean. Piers and buildings have been rebuilt in a better way, and bars, nautical commercial spaces, two restaurants, on-board delivery services and high level catering for guest events and entertainment added. Safety is paramount, exemplified by an excellent fire prevention system, personnel with first aid certificates, and video surveillance on the docks, entrances and commercial premises.
Porto Carlo Riva will be the first tourist port in Liguria to use purified municipal waste water for approximately 80% of its non-potable water requirements e.g. boat washing and watering plants and green spaces. Thousands of tonnes of inert materials were reclaimed from the storm surge and used to rebuild the site, and energy saving devices and solar panels are installed. In collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment, great care has been taken to protect the local marine flora and fauna and electric charge points have been installed for cars and boats.
To boost tourist appeal, Bizzi & Partners is leveraging the natural beauty of the Gulf of Tigullio while making Porto Carlo Riva attractive to superyachts with a top-of-the-range clubhouse, retail and food and beverage outlets.
The key figure involved in the regeneration of Porto Carlo Riva, Davide Bizzi, founder and CEO of Bizzi & Partners, has developed and sold more than 30 million square metres of residential and commercial property in Europe and the Americas. His is a character animated by a strong passion for design and architecture, a quality that is reflected in the design of his buildings and everything else he creates. This concept of out-of-the-box thinking and passion for excellence mirrors the approach taken by Carlo Riva himself when he first developed the marina as one of the first private tourist ports in Italy and the most iconic yachting destination.
Looking back in time, Carlo Riva – an engineer, navigator and pioneer of pleasure boating – was equally renowned for his shipyards and, of course, the luxurious Riva motorboats favoured by famous people from all over the world – think Brigitte Bardot! Fast forward to Davide Bizzi who, while considering the marina privileged – his first marina project and conceived as a five-star hotel – said it will have a sequel, having obtained an agreement with the Municipality of Bordighera to rebuild the port from scratch. The inauguration of the new Porto Carlo Marina was unsurprisingly a regional, national and international event.
Interestingly, after analysis, the management team decided against offering hospitality areas exclusively reserved for the crews and captains of large yachts, believing that they would best enjoy the same high-end facilities as other guests. These include a new hospitality venue called Torretta, which boasts a restaurant and American bar/ice cream parlour, all managed by the Mussini family under its brand O’Magazin al Porto. This is seen as the hospitality flagship of the marina, offering the best food and beverage outlet in Rapallo, and captains and crew enjoy its services from breakfast through to lunch and dinner.
Concierge services are well covered with an information point, staffed by two team members who can assist with itinerary planning and general requests (taxis, onboard grocery deliveries, restaurant bookings etc). Meeting rooms with Wi-Fi, the latest generation fibre and an integrated system for video calls are available, as well as a private office that can be reserved for meetings. When the clubhouse opens next season, wellness and gym facilities will be available.
An on-site property agency can assist in finding apartments for crew members requiring short and medium term accommodation although this is unlikely to be greatly utilised as, due to limited space, there is no refit area for large yachts. The on-site yard is suitable for hauling, launching and maintaining small boats up to 18m (59ft) in length and is managed by third parties.
The commercial facility features a merchandising mix that is appreciated by captains and ship owners and stands out as a base for Riva, Sanlorenzo and Nautor’s Swan. Border police, a property agency, ship chandler, jewellery store, high fashion and technical clothing retailer, delicatessen and wine shop will also open in 2025. The management team reports that one of the services most appreciated by captains is 24-hour mooring assistance, and the marina team is very proud to offer this.
The new concession agreed with the municipality includes maintenance of the public spaces of the public port and activities related to the Patron Saint Festival in July. Collaboration with the events office of the Municipality of Rapallo is also ongoing. The concession runs until 2056.