At the Cannes Yachting Festival 2025, the Marche Yachting & Cruising Association presented the latest initiatives in support of the regional yachting supply chain and its related industries, with a special focus on the “Approdi” project, which aims to equip the territory with suitable infrastructure to welcome large yachts.

The press conference – the fourth organized by the association at the international level – was presented by President Maurizio Minossi and featured Dr. Marina Santucci, Director of ATIM (Tourism and Internationalization Agency of the Marche Region), and Alfonso Postorino, Director of Cantiere Rossini in Pesaro and board member of the association.

Marche, a manufacturing region looking to the sea

In her remarks, Marina Santucci emphasized how yachting is increasingly becoming one of the Marche’s strategic sectors, traditionally known for manufacturing.
“We are working,” she explained, “to create a direct link between the Marche brand and yachting, just as has already been done with other industrial sectors. It is essential to position the territory at a high level, able to attract international tourists with strong spending capacity, such as the owners of large superyachts.”

Santucci also pointed out that the supply chain is not just a luxury sector for a few, but a productive industry with a strong economic and employment impact. To confirm the system’s solidity, Francesco Acquaroli, President of the Region, recently announced that in 2025 the Marche ranked as the second Italian region for GDP growth, with +0.8%, a trend expected to continue in 2026.

Superyacht production: the Marche numbers

Alfonso Postorino highlighted the latest data, processed by Cantiere Rossini from official sources, on the production of yachts over 24 meters in the 2020–2024 period.
“The Marche alone,” said the manager, “have built 360 yachts over 24 meters, more than what was produced altogether by the Netherlands, Germany and Turkey in the same period.”

This achievement confirms the region’s industrial weight but also highlights a major weakness: the lack of equipped berths. “Today,” Postorino added, “yachts leave the shipyards but no longer return to the Marche because suitable moorings are missing. This is a limitation that penalizes the entire territory.”

The “Approdi” project: new quays in Civitanova and Ancona

To fill this infrastructure gap, the association is pursuing the Approdi project in cooperation with the Port Authority of Ancona and local administrations.

In Porto Civitanova, a quay of over 70 meters has already been identified by the Coast Guard, capable of hosting yachts up to 60 meters in length (499 GT).

In Ancona, the design of a 120-meter quay with a draft up to 8 meters and a 100-meter water basin is at an advanced stage: an infrastructure capable of welcoming large yachts and modern sailing vessels, both for summer transit and as a winter base.

Postorino recalled the experience of Cantiere Rossini in Pesaro, where the creation of 12 berths has already demonstrated how the availability of moorings attracts owners and guests, generating immediate benefits for restaurants, hotels, and local services.

Towards a national network of excellence

Looking ahead, the association intends to strengthen synergies with other Italian yachting districts, such as La Spezia and Friuli Venezia Giulia, with a view to coordinated promotion of Italian yachtbuilding.
“This is not about territorial competition,” President Minossi clarified, “but about mutual enhancement, in order to build a quality network.”

The Cannes press conference reaffirmed that the Marche are not just a manufacturing region, but a leading player in the construction of large yachts. With the start of the new port master plan in Ancona and the implementation of the Approdi project, the region aims to transform itself not only into a production hub but also into a reference destination for international yachting.