The La Spezia Shipyards (www.cnlaspezia.com), located on the eastern shore of the Gulf of the same name, were officially founded in 1966, on an area once also used as a base for the ditching of seaplanes.
In 1996 the shipyard was acquired by the entrepreneur Antonia Papacena who, over the years and with subsequent expansions, extended the surface area to over 23,000 square metres, entirely dedicated to the storage and maintenance of pleasure boats. Today the shipyard, which can be reached in just over 2 hours by car from Milan, can count on two travel lifts of 140 and 450 tonnes for the hauling and launching of hulls with a draft of over 6 metres. Inside there are carpentry, mechanical workshops, saddles and cradle for every type of boat, as well as toolmakers, shipwrights and labor specialized in every type of work.
There are four hulls belonging to the fleet of historic vessels of the Navy present at the same time in the yard's yards, starting with Tarantella from 1969, a 16.70 meter long Bermudan sloop built by the Carlini shipyard in Rimini based on a design by Sparkman & Stephens. In December 2023 the boat was donated to the Navy by the former German shipowner Peter Schmidt, who owned it for 30 years. Next to her is the 1974 Sangermani Chaplin, a Bermudan cutter designed by Carlo Sciarrelli, also donated to the Armed Forces in 2008 by the Genoese Novi family. This year Chaplin celebrates 50 years since its launch. Close to delivery, after a winter of work, is the 1956 Bermudian yawl Artica II, built by Sangermani based on an Illinghworth-Giles design, winner of the Torbay-Lisbon regatta that year. The most important intervention was the reconstruction of the teak deck. Finally, the Bermudan yawl Stella Polare from 1965, another 21 meter long Sangermani designed by Sparkman & Stephens, which has always been used for the sailing training of Naval Academy officers. By the summer the boats will return to the sea to participate in vintage sail rallies and carry out the planned training campaigns for future Navy commanders.

The classic boats at the Cantieri Navali di La Spezia

The La Spezia Shipyards host 20 to 30 percent of vintage and classic boats on their yards every year. Suffice it to say that in recent seasons, truly iconic hulls in the history of sailing have found shelter and assistance here, starting with the 42-metre three-masted schooner Croce del Sud from 1931, which has always been linked to the Mentasti family of the San Pellegrino mineral waters. Also the gaff schooner Deva from 1930, ex Te Vega, a majestic 40 meter long steel schooner built by the German Krupp shipyard and Invader, the former exploration vessel from 1905 which hosted film stars such as Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard, have often stopped at the construction site. Added to these are other hulls encountered at vintage sailing gatherings such as the Sangermani Sahib of 1957 and Viola of 1958, the small Alcor of 1964, the Colin Archer of 1908 Aurora, the splendid Fife Ellad of 1957, Rosalù, Bianca and many other.
Since 2020, the young Marco Agnese, twenty-nine year old son of Antonia, Monegasque by birth, graduated from Pisa in law and a great enthusiast of vintage boating, has been at the helm of the shipyard. Since 2009 his family has been sailing Aleph, a 16 meter long Bermudan yawl built in Honduran pine and mahogany planking in 1951 by the well-known German shipyard Abeking & Rasmussen. For almost 40 years the boat belonged to yachtsman Mario Pirri, who crossed the Atlantic Ocean 4 times with Aleph, three of which solo. This is also accompanied by a 1971 Riva Junior and a Montecarlo 30 motoryacht, also created by the nautical pioneer Carlo Riva. Marco Agnese has the task of leading the construction site into the future. In fact, the next investments include the construction of 3 new piers to replace the current sea tank, a new cutting-edge water purification plant and the construction of two tanks respectively 10 and 14 meters wide and 60 meters long. New warehouses, equipped with photovoltaic panels, will increase the covered surface area up to 10,000 square metres. Agnese's right-hand man is Moreno Cantinotti from Lunigiana, who is entrusted with the role of operations director.

The classic boats at the Cantieri Navali di La Spezia
The classic boats at the Cantieri Navali di La Spezia
The classic boats at the Cantieri Navali di La Spezia
The classic boats at the Cantieri Navali di La Spezia
The classic boats at the Cantieri Navali di La Spezia
The classic boats at the Cantieri Navali di La Spezia
The classic boats at the Cantieri Navali di La Spezia

Recently Tulli from 1960, a 14.95 meter long ketch-armed motorsailer, also entered the shipyard for a series of works on the systems and for the reconstruction of a portion of the mizzen mast, which had become damaged due to detachments. The boat returned to sea in 2021, after having remained hospitalized for 35 years at the Sangermani shipyards that had built it. Here it was rediscovered by two Milanese professionals who, after falling in love with it, commissioned Sangermani to carry out a complete restoration. On board a historic 1967 Super Polaris model motoryacht from the Cantieri di Pisa, 13 meters long, the transom was replaced with solid mahogany wood, followed by the restoration of the sides with epoxy products and the classic final painting with the technique roller-brush. In the same covered shed there is also another hull that has made the history of pleasure boating. This is Marinai d'Italia, a Baglietto motoryacht from 1964. The boat belongs to the shipyard and is now available to be sold to a new owner eager to commission an important restoration that can allow her to sail safely again.