The 1970 Riva Aquarama Byblos was awarded the coveted Best in Show in Venice on the occasion of Riva Days, the large international gathering of the most famous wooden motorboats in the world organized in the lagoon city from 28 June to 3 July 2024 by the Riva Historical Society . 
At the Riva Ariston Vittoria III in 1961, the first prize in the Concorso di Eleganza, themed Marco Polo, awarded after the great joint parade in the San Marco Basin with the vintage sails of the Principality of Monaco Trophy in Venice. Rubia from 1958 and Legend from 1990 won the Carlo Riva Cup in the 'single-engine' and 'twin-engine' categories respectively, while Tempest II, a 1972 Olympic, won the ASI Cup for the best maneuverability test.  

'BYBLOS' WINS "BEST IN SHOW" IN VENICE
The Riva Aquarama Byblos of the Belgian shipowner Jérôme Malavoy, launched in 1970, won the coveted “Best in Show” on the occasion of the “Riva Days – Marco Polo, ASI NAUTIC SHOW – Concorso d'Eleganza Frederique Constant”, the most important event of 2024 throughout the Mediterranean dedicated to historic motoring. From 28 June to 3 July a fleet of around 50 boats, coming from over 10 nations, met at the Marina Santelena in Venice to celebrate the myth of the motorboats born on Lake Iseo, which have become the best known in the history of boating since pleasure. Another organizational success for the Riva Historical Society founded in 1998, the international Federation chaired by the Milanese architect Piero Maria Gibellini which brings together 13 departments and 700 members from over 30 countries on five continents. Sponsors of the rally were Bavaria Assicurazioni, Frederique Constant and ASI, the Italian Historic Automotoclub which awarded the ASI Cup in Venice. Technical sponsors Vitale Barberis Canonico, Yacht Club Venezia and Marina Santelena. A special thanks to the Auxiliary Coast Guard for their accompaniment and escort activity in the lagoon with their amphibious vehicles.

Riva Days Venice 2024, the Aquarama Byblos wins Best in Show

THE REBIRTH OF A RIVA AQUARAMA
Byblos is the name of the hotel in Saint Tropez, frequented by stars and famous people, purchased at the end of the 1960s by the well-known French entrepreneur Sylvain Floirat. “In 1970”, says Jérôme Malavoy, “the Floirat family purchased Riva Aquarama number 401 which they called Byblos. In 1990 my wife Benedicte and I found the boat in a state of disrepair. After the purchase and an initial restoration we sailed for 15 years in the Arcachon Basin, on the French Atlantic coast. Then, for professional reasons related to our software company, we moved to the USA, leaving the boat in the care of the Bonnin shipyard. In 2023 we entrusted Riva Classiche of Sarnico with the new and complete restoration of Byblos, which returned to the splendor of the seventies. We are proud of what has been achieved and we thank the Riva Historical Society for the excellent gathering in Venice, which represents the beginning of a new life for our Riva Aquarama". 

THE “MARCO POLO” THEMED ELEGANCE COMPETITION WINS 'VITTORIA III' 
After the great parade in the San Marco Basin on Sunday 30 June, organized together with the vintage sails participating in the 11th edition of the Principality of Monaco Trophy in Venice, the winners of the Frederique Constant Elegance Competition were announced. The theme of this Riva Days was "Marco Polo", dedicated to the 700th anniversary of the death of the Venetian explorer author of "Il Milione". The Riva Ariston number 363 of the 1961 Vittoria III of the Milanese Mattia Martinelli won the competition for the best re-enactment in period costume. “The Rivas are a passion that goes beyond sailing and extends to art, the business sector in which I operate,” he declared. “An almost obligatory choice”, continues Martinelli, “in relation to boats which, although not without defects, are in reality like the loves that bind a man to a woman, where one becomes abstract without noticing the imperfections anymore”. Second place was the Ariston Typ One of 1965, followed by the Super Florida Ksar of 1968. Among the other boats that stood out in the Concours d'Elegance were Giolisan (1961), Sineche (1972), Arriva (1966), Cocoa (1974), The Good Life (1974), Skylark III (1960), Tempest II (1972), Holly (1964), Gordon (1965) and Manicla (1963).

Riva Days Venice 2024, the Aquarama Byblos wins Best in Show
Riva Days Venice 2024, the Aquarama Byblos wins Best in Show
Riva Days Venice 2024, the Aquarama Byblos wins Best in Show
Riva Days Venice 2024, the Aquarama Byblos wins Best in Show
Riva Days Venice 2024, the Aquarama Byblos wins Best in Show
Riva Days Venice 2024, the Aquarama Byblos wins Best in Show

THE RANKINGS
Below are the rankings of the prizes awarded on the occasion of the awards ceremony held at the fifteenth-century Hotel Ca' Sagredo overlooking the Grand Canal, starting with the Carlo Riva Cup which took into account evaluation parameters such as originality, aesthetics and importance of the boat.
Carlo Riva Cup cat. single-engine: 1st Rubia (1958) – 2nd Softly II (1968) – 3rd Ksar (1968) 
Carlo Riva Cup cat. twin-engine: 1st Legend (1990) – 2nd Skylark III (1960) – 3rd Maud II (1974)
ASI Cup – Maneuverability test: 1st Tempest II (1972) – 2nd Rudy no name (1973) – 3rd Vittoria III (1961)
Ugo Gambardella, ASI vice president who spoke in Venice with the president of the ASI Nautical and Aeronautical Commission Claudio Tovaglieri, underlined the importance of the event and the attention that will be paid in the future both to the world of historic motoring and to that of boating in general. The Riva Ariston number 862 Tiffa My from 1968, coming from Finland, was awarded as the vessel coming from furthest away, while a special prize went to the German shipowner who brought two Riva Rudy boats to the gathering, respectively launched in 1973 and in 1975. Special guest of the final evening Valerio Venturelli, new young director of Riva Classiche. 

THE BOOK ON THE CELLI SITE 
As many as 1,150 scans of images and photographs. The volume "I Celli da Viareggio a Venezia" contains many, the latest literary effort by RHS president Piero Maria Gibellini dedicated to the well-known lagoon shipyard which ceased operations over half a century ago. The book was presented during an evening at the Marina Santelena. On stage, in addition to the RHS president, also Stefano Costantini, CEO of the reborn Cantiere Celli as well as president of Marina Santelena, with the lawyer Federico Serafini, the nephew of Marco Celli who with his brothers Dino and Ugo had founded the most important and prolific shipyard of the Adriatic.

The Riva Historical Society
The Riva Historical Society, founded in Milan in 1998, is the international association that protects and spreads the culture of the most famous wooden motorboats in the world. The approximately 700 members, divided into 13 departments, come from over 30 countries and are distributed across five continents. The historic president of the Riva Historical Society is the Milanese architect Piero Maria Gibellini, official biographer of the engineer. 

Carlo Riva as well as member of the Motorboating Commission of the ASI (Italian Historic Automotoclub). Gibellini has created numerous encyclopedic volumes today considered by experts and shipyards to be the complete work on the history of the Riva shipyard. 

The Riva Historical Registry RHS alone, the result of 15 years of research, collects more than 800 images and the census of over 2300 Rivas still sailing in 40 different countries.