Sanlorenzo Yachts, an exhibition of shipyards

Different moments and places are brought together via 30 black and white shots by the photographer Silvano Pupella in the shipyards of La Spezia.

The Sanlorenzo shipyards currently cover the final part of Liguria which reaches Tuscany, where accents of the people and the culinary traditions blend. This mix is also represented by the Castle of San Giorgio in Lerici, the location of a photographic exhibition on the work of the shipyard entitled “Navigators. A voyage through the Sanlorenzo shipyards”. The building, which boasts a strategic position on the coast, has been the subject of dispute between Pisa and Genoa since its construction in 1100, and the tower demonstrates this through its “nesting doll” construction, with an inner tower of Pisa origin surrounded by a second “Genoese” tower. The terrace offers a view of the Gulf of La Spezia, the Gulf of Poets, the white home of the English poet Shelley on the sea front, and the continuous line which unites the mammoth loading cranes in the port of La Spezia, the China Export containers and the warehouses which, like seaside resorts, house the offices and hangers of this company, the most important in the world (as an individual brand) for the construction of boats of 24 metres and over. 

It is a spontaneous reminder of the culture of design typical of Italian boat-making - even for those who are not lovers of the sea. It is in fact a discussion on art and design as well as on the passion for marine travel.

Different moments and places are brought together in an exhibition constructed around 30 black and white shots by the photographer Silvano Pupella in the shipyards of La Spezia. The reportage focuses on close-up shots: the hull, the ladder, the prow under construction, the propeller, and all the almost-organic forms of these giants of the sea forged by human hands. Seen from this point of view, these forms lose all sense of scale and their beauty is shown, one notes the aesthetics of the fragments, a certain scenographic feeling in this open-air shipyard (a kind of outdoors theatre) and the appreciation of manual labour which demands fatigue and rewards with satisfaction. It is a spontaneous reminder of the culture of design typical of Italian boat-making - even for those who are not lovers of the sea. It is in fact a discussion on art and design as well as on the passion for marine travel. How can the culture of design of Italian boat-building (from Gio Ponti to Gino Coppedè, from Gustavo Pulitzer to Guido Canali and Gae Aulenti) be recovered, updating language within the essential relationship between art and design seen as a capacity for creativity and not simply as formal aesthetics? 

It takes two years to make a Sanlorenzo boat. Two years of teamwork along the length of an industrial area which ranges from La Spezia to Viareggio via Ameglia and Massa Carrara. The final product is often for overseas clients. This long and delicate process may be the reason why, in over fifty years of activity, the company founded in 1958 and in the hands of the Chairman and CEO Massimo Perotti since 2005 has built and sold “only” 950 yachts. A sense of uniqueness and attention to the definition of details is a crucial aspect for the shipyard, one that has been assigned to Sergio Buttiglieri, who after years in Driade has assumed the responsibility of handling relations between boat-owners and interior designers, in collaboration with important figures from the world of Italian design. Sanlorenzo is an Italian shipyard founded by Gianfranco Cecchi and Giuliano Pecchi in Limite sull’Arno, in the vicinity of Florence. This was followed by a move to Viareggio with the acquisition of the company by Giovanni Jannetti, and then the beginning of construction of super-yachts in 1995, right up to the acquisition of the majority share by Massimo Perotti in 2005. This saw a positive period for the shipyard, one that has been marked by countless awards, experimentation with materials (in 2010 the launch of the first displacement yacht made of steel) and ever-increasing relations with Italian design companies. It is no coincidence that Sanlorenzo is currently a nominee for the Golden Compass award for the SX88 by Lissoni, the Explorer by Citterio/Viel and the installation “The Sea in Milan” at the Triennale.

Since 2005, Sanlorenzo has strengthened its collaboration with designers and architects (Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel, Piero Lissoni and Rodolfo Dordoni, for example), set up partnerships with art and architectural institutions (taking part in events such as ArtBasel, the Art and Architecture exhibitions in Venice and the International Furniture Fair in Milan), and has invested in the relationship between creativity and craftsmanship in the area, acquiring shipyards and building spaces destined for an academy - an internal training school for the handing down of knowledge and skills from one generation to another. A time to look to the future.

Exhibition:
Navigators. A voyage through the Sanlorenzo shipyards
Location:
Castello di San Giorgio, Lerici (SP)
Opening dates:
Until 10 March 2019

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