Marche’s Excellence Forum: Yachting and Industrial Craftsmanship as Strategic Drivers for Regional Development
The “Forum on Marche’s Excellence”, organized last week by the Marche Yachting and Cruising Association, was conceived to highlight the strategic role of yachting and industrial craftsmanship in the Marche region. The focus was on innovation, technical skills, and the capacity to build networks among businesses, universities, and institutions.

Through the contributions of prominent entrepreneurs and academics, the event offered an overview of the challenges and opportunities facing the Marche production system, emphasizing the importance of business culture, technical training, and territorial communication. The forum gathered stakeholders from the nautical, furniture, wine, and industrial design sectors, underscoring the potential of Marche’s manufacturing know-how for sustainable development and international attractiveness.

The Forum took place in Fano, within the refurbished spaces of the former marine biology laboratory, now renamed Marine Center. The session was moderated by RAI journalist Manuela Moreno.

Many attendees filled the auditorium, including institutional representatives, entrepreneurs, local stakeholders, and journalists, all focused on exploring potential synergies between yachting, design, manufacturing industry, quality agriculture, and advanced education.

Yachting and Manufacturing: Tilli Antonelli’s Contribution

Tilli Antonelli, originally from Ravenna but now a long-time resident of the Marche region, and a well-known figure in the yachting industry, retraced the key milestones of his career: from the foundation of Pershing, to the creation of Wider, up to his current role as Head of the SP (Smart Performance) range at Sanlorenzo. His speech highlighted how innovation in yachting must today integrate aesthetics, comfort, performance, and sustainability. “Italy has a unique heritage of artisanal skills,” he said, “but we need visionary entrepreneurs who invest in human capital and think outside the box.”

Antonelli also reaffirmed the value of local production with short supply chains, product customization, and perceived quality—features increasingly sought by international clients looking beyond aesthetics, towards technical and design substance.

Craftsmanship and Design: Future Challenges According to Cantori

Federica Cantori, Marketing & Communication Manager at the company that bears her name, shared her experience in high-end furniture design, based on a network of highly specialized local artisans. “Finding qualified labor is increasingly difficult,” she explained, “due to the lack of school-based education focused on craftsmanship. An educational reform is needed to revalue manual and technical work.”

Transmitting know-how across generations, while focusing on sustainability and local productive identity, is essential to avoid the erosion of skills. “The Marche region has a strong manufacturing history, but it must learn to communicate it better—especially to younger generations,” she concluded.

Francesco Casoli: Industrial System and Functional Design

Francesco Casoli, President of the Elica Group, stressed the need to build systems among companies and move beyond local parochialism. “Reputation is built not only on aesthetics but also on reliability, quality, and respect for deadlines. Design is not a stylistic exercise—it must be engineered.”

Casoli reiterated that the Marche region can compete on a global scale only if it can aggregate expertise, share resources, and establish a solid network among related sectors—from yachting to home appliances, from furniture to light mechanics.

Michele Bernetti: Experiential Tourism and the Perceived Value of Wine

Michele Bernetti, CEO of Umani Ronchi, analyzed the evolution of the wine market and the growing demand for authentic, territory-based experiences. “Today’s consumer seeks value, identity, and sustainability. Wine promotion now also involves experiential tourism—from cellar tours to storytelling about the product.”

Bernetti stated that the future lies not in increasing volume but in raising the perceived value of the product, also through the quality of services offered. He presented the company’s integrated tourism approach: wine resorts, cooking classes, and vineyard experiences, all reinforcing the connection between product and territory.

Gianluca Gregori: Technical Training and Institutional Synergies

The Rector of the Marche Polytechnic University, Gianluca Gregori, offered a strategic perspective based on data: demographics, productivity, and educational orientation. “We need more graduates in technical disciplines,” he stated, “and we must also value manual and artisanal skills.” Collaboration between universities, SMEs, and institutions is considered essential to curb brain drain and support local entrepreneurship.

Gregori proposed public-private co-innovation models such as accelerators, university spin-offs, and shared projects—adopting an interdisciplinary approach that connects tourism, agriculture, yachting, and manufacturing.

Marina Santucci’s Closing Remarks: Communicating Territorial Value

In her closing remarks, Marina Santucci, Director of the Agency for Tourism and Internationalization of the Marche Region, emphasized the urgency of more structured and effective territorial communication, targeted at international markets. “Events like this are important showcases for attracting investors, tourists, journalists, and buyers. But we need coherence, long-term strategies, and awareness of our own value.”

Our Impressions

The “Forum on Marche’s Excellence” clearly demonstrated the presence of a dynamic, skilled, and innovative production network. However, there is a clear need to invest in technical training, strengthen business networks, promote artisanal competencies, and build a shared narrative of the territory. It is also undeniable that the region needs adequate infrastructure to support entrepreneurs and their businesses in pursuing further competitive development—a gap not limited to the Marche, but common to many parts of Italy. Shipbuilding, yachting, design, agrifood, and academia can become the pillars of an integrated system, able to face global competition with modern tools and deep roots.