It’s a Sangermani: 130 years of a legend renewed

LAVAGNA (GE) – Not so much a slogan as a distinctive hallmark, setting these yachts apart from others—perhaps larger, more luxurious or more high-performing—elevating both vessel and owner to a rarefied level, even if it still smells of the sea.

“It’s a Sangermani”: for those with any knowledge of yachting, no further explanation is needed. The others will learn in time.

The 130th anniversary of the historic Lavagna shipyard (1896–2026) was celebrated with an event that brought together seasoned sailors with grey hair and school students, innovative designers and skilled shipwrights, refined owners and humble carpenters, fully reflecting the spirit of a company that, in over a century of activity, has never changed its philosophy, remaining a large family where owners and workers call each other by name and share coffee under a shed, between strictly hand-crafted wooden work and new refit projects developed on computers.

The Sangermani family has now reached its fourth generation, with Giacomo and his brother Filippo carrying the company forward with a steady yet measured approach. It remains one of the most renowned names in Italian yachting, having endured eras and wars, continuously renewing itself without losing its original identity.

In Lavagna’s auditorium, the celebrations were opened—appropriately understated, as Ligurian tradition would suggest—by Mayor Gian Alberto Mangiante, who recalled how the shipyard’s long and distinguished history is also a journey through the “senses” evoked by the materials used in boatbuilding, particularly wood.

A personal memory of a Sangermani yacht was shared by Commander Donato Florio, head of the Coast Guard’s maritime office in Santa Margherita. “Our training at the Naval Academy included sailing aboard Chaplin, a 1974 Sangermani yacht, with which I crossed the Gulf of Lion as a cadet, encountering seven-metre waves for days. Today I find myself commanding an office in the very area where that boat was built, and it is deeply moving,” the officer said.

Davide Conti, president of the cultural association Liguria Design, placed the event within the Tigullio Design District, now in its fifth edition, a week-long programme animating the eastern Ligurian Riviera with presentations, exhibitions, workshops, fashion shows and open shipyards, with the sea almost always at the centre. “Italian design develops above all thanks to its craftsmen. It is now up to younger generations and students to carry forward this excellence and preserve the valuable know-how of shipyard workers,” Conti noted.

The particularly close and friendly bond between the Sangermani family and its employees was well summarised by Mike Bava, who, after a distinguished career as captain of yachts such as July Mother around the world, fulfilled a personal ambition by becoming the owner of a Sangermani yacht.

His colleague Carlo Palmero took over from Bava at the helm of July Mother, commanding her for 25 years. “There is a significant difference between an owner and a yacht owner,” he explained. “The latter has a true boating culture, respects and loves the boat; the former can only become that if he truly lives the boat. My journey with Sangermani has been both personal and professional.”

An illustrative anecdote tells of a summer when a berth was found for him in the seemingly full marina of Porto Rotondo: “It’s a Sangermani,” exclaimed the harbour master, and the other yachts parted to make way for the Italian boat, always welcome worldwide.

Architect Luca Olivari retraced his collaboration with the Lavagna shipyard, which began in 1979. It was with him that Sangermani started building composite boats, “thanks to the openness and vision of Cesare and Ettore,” who gave him full freedom despite the uncertainties surrounding a material that was then still little known.

Olivari also conceived a 40-foot catamaran and, together with German Frers, designed Rolly Go, another historic yacht from the yard. “Today I would like to return to building wooden boats,” he concluded.

A particularly moving speech came from Antonio Dominici, who began working at Sangermani in 1976 at the age of 16. Initially a shipwright, then chief loftsman and now also a photographer, he recalled his 50 years in the yard alongside the Sangermani family, who would first reprimand him for being late and then invite him for coffee to discuss how to improve the next boat.

He perhaps best embodies the evolution of a company that, for 130 years, has been synonymous with quality and prestige, yet continues to let others say so while it keeps working, with heart and mind at sea and feet firmly on the ground.

To preserve what Sangermani and other great Italian shipyards represent, organisations such as the Italian Historic Boats Federation, chaired by Paolo Savelli, play a crucial role. This umbrella organisation brings together associations and clubs of enthusiasts, all committed to preserving and promoting Italy’s vast nautical heritage, also through dialogue with institutions. “Today everything depends on communication: the hands of skilled workers are ageing, and young people must be involved to continue our shipbuilding tradition.”

FIBAS is far from being a group of nostalgic enthusiasts: it has already achieved tangible results, including the establishment of the Officine dell’Acqua Foundation in Laveno Mombello, recognised by the Lombardy Region as a cultural site, funded for redevelopment and set to open its own shipwright school in 2027.

There is only one Sangermani, of course, but this is likely the right path to celebrate many more anniversaries across Italy in the years to come.

Riccardo Masnata

(In the second part of the report, we will retrace the history of the shipyard and its most famous yachts with Giacomo Sangermani, who will also outline future perspectives.)

©PressMare - All rights reserved