How Italy Is Rethinking the Superyacht

Italian shipyards have long set the benchmark for superyacht design, blending craftsmanship, engineering, and unmistakable style. Yet today, the conversation has shifted beyond aesthetics alone. As a new generation of owners brings greater experience, sharper design literacy, and evolving lifestyle expectations, the world’s most respected builders are responding with yachts that feel less like vessels and more like highly personal residences at sea. This evolution reflects not only changing tastes, but a broader redefinition of luxury itself – one rooted in experience, individuality, and emotional connection rather than scale alone.

Baglietto, Benetti, Custom Line, and The Italian Sea Group – whose portfolio spans Admiral, Perini Navi, Picchiotti and Tecnomar – represent different eras and expressions of Italian yachting heritage. What unites them is a shared understanding that modern luxury is no longer defined by size or spectacle, but by how intuitively a yacht supports life on board. Across sailing and motor yachts, semi-custom platforms, and full-custom projects alike, these shipyards are responding with increasingly nuanced, owner-led solutions. Northrop & Johnson’s new build and brokerage teams have worked closely with each of these yards, delivering both new builds and brokered yachts to highly satisfied clients. In conversation with Navigator, the shipyards reveal how evolving owner expectations, technology, wellness, and sustainability are shaping the next decade of superyacht design.

Owner involvement
One of the most profound shifts in recent years is the active role owners play in the design process. Today’s clients arrive informed, engaged, and clear about how they intend to use their yachts, often treating them as extensions of their primary homes rather than occasional escapes. Many are repeat owners with a deep understanding of what works and what doesn’t at sea. “Over the past decade, owners have moved away from yachts as pure expressions of status,” says Daniela Petrozzi, Benetti Sales Director. “Instead, they are prioritizing experience, adaptability, and the ability to support an evolving lifestyle.”

“At The Italian Sea Group, this evolution is understood not as a single trend but as a diversification of ownership cultures,” says CCO Gianmaria Costantino. Rather than responding with a uniform design language, the shipyard’s multi-brand structure allows each project to be shaped around an individual vision. Whether through Admiral’s architectural elegance, Perini Navi’s cultivated sailing heritage, Picchiotti’s blend of naval authority and innovation, or Tecnomar’s performance-driven expression, the design process begins from a blank sheet, ensuring each yacht is a precise response to its owner’s intent. “This approach allows us to accommodate widely differing expectations, from understated long-range cuising to bold, high-performance statements,” says Costantino.

“Superyacht owners have become more experienced and design-savvy,” says Giordano Pellacani, Chief Commercial Officer of the Ferretti Group. “They are no longer simply purchasing a yacht. They are shaping a highly personal environment that reflects their lifestyle, values, and the way they intend to live on board.” This shift has driven yachts toward more residential sensibilities across all size brackets. Interiors are optimized to feel expansive yet intimate, with fluid layouts prioritizing liveability over formality. Spatial planning now places equal emphasis on everyday comfort and long-term usability, ensuring yachts remain adaptable as owners’ needs evolve. Customization now extends well beyond décor to include circulation, proportions, and how spaces function throughout the day. As Petrozzi notes, anticipating these needs requires “extensive brainstorming with captains and owners from the earliest stages,” ensuring yachts deliver refined, adaptable environments rather than static statements.

Interior meets exterior
As yachts increasingly mirror residential life, the distinction between inside and outside has softened. Owners are seeking deeper connections with the sea, alongside exterior spaces that offer the same comfort and versatility as interior salons. Since 2020 in particular, the demand for extended periods on board has driven demand for convivial, flexible outdoor areas.

“At Baglietto, we see a growing desire to experience outdoor areas with the same level of comfort and refinement as interiors,” explains Francesca Attuoni, Interior Designer & Architect. “This has led to alfresco spaces that can be enclosed on all sides, or fully opened in moments, allowing interiors and exteriors to merge seamlessly.”

At The Italian Sea Group, this continuity is approached as a cultural and personal choice rather than a fixed formula. Exterior lines and deck layouts are shaped by how each owner values openness, privacy, and social life, with engineering and design discipline ensuring that flexibility never compromises protection or comfort.

This shift has had a profound impact on yacht architecture, especially in the design of stern and beach club areas. Petrozzi notes that the continuous rethinking of these spaces has followed a clear trajectory for Benetti, with the introduction of the Oasis Deck®. The most recent example of the Oasis Deck® can be found aboard the 219’ (67m) B.Now LADY ESTEY. “The concept features fold-out side wings at water level, delivering unobstructed 270-degree views aft and a seamless visual connection, even from the main deck lounge,” says Petrozzi. Large expanses of glass now play a defining role in reinforcing this dialogue between interior and exterior. Taller, wider glazing – often paired with glass balustrades – dissolves visual barriers, immersing guests in their surroundings while maintaining climate control and privacy when required. For Benetti, this philosophy has extended beyond the stern, evolving into new spatial interpretations such as the Veranda Deck®, and more recently the Cabana Deck™, introduced with the B.Loft 65M and further developed on the B.Loft 58M.

These design choices are not purely aesthetic; they fundamentally change how space is perceived and used on board. For owners, the result is a yacht that adapts effortlessly to changing conditions, from shaded lunches to open-air evenings, without compromising on comfort or flow.

Wellness at sea
Wellness has become one of the most influential drivers of contemporary yacht design. Once considered optional extras, gyms, spas, saunas, and hammams are now central to onboard life, shaping layouts and spatial priorities. “At Custom Line, well-being guides our design from the very beginning,” says Pellacani. Costantino says The Italian Sea Group echoes this philosophy, viewing wellness as part of a broader concept of quality of life at sea. “These spaces are treated as architectural environments, governed by the same principles of proportion, acoustics, and material continuity as the rest of the yacht, ensuring they enhance rather than disrupt the onboard experience.”

Baglietto approaches wellness with a strong emphasis on location and connection to the sea. “We typically dedicate wellness areas to zones that naturally lend themselves to this experience,” Attuoni explains. Beach clubs aft or exterior spaces forward of the owner’s cabin allow generous, light-filled environments without encroaching on interior guest areas.

Technology
Advancements in automation, lighting, acoustics, and onboard systems have quietly transformed life on board, enhancing comfort through simplicity and precision. “Automation systems now allow intuitive control of lighting, climate, entertainment, and shade,” says Pellacani. “This creates seamless experiences where technology supports wellbeing without intruding.”

For Benetti, technology today is less about visibility and more about integration. Petrozzi notes that it enables a more conscious and sophisticated lifestyle on board, where advanced systems work in harmony with design rather than drawing attention to themselves. “This philosophy is evident in yachts such as the B.Yond Voyager 57M, which combines distinctive design with advanced propulsion and power-management solutions to deliver smooth, efficient operation and an enhanced onboard experience,” says Petrozzi.

Photo by Jeff Brown

Lighting in particular has evolved dramatically. Compact, high-performance fixtures enable layered lighting schemes that shift mood throughout the day, while intelligent control systems allow both to be shaped effortlessly. “With a simple touch, spaces can be transformed through lighting and ambiance scenarios,” explains Attuoni, reflecting how Baglietto’s yachts now offer the same level of personalization and ease found in private residences. Beyond automation and lighting, technology also plays a defining role in sensory comfort. Petrozzi points to the 219’1” (67m) CALEX as an example of how engineering excellence directly enhances life on board. Through the use of the “box-in-a-box” construction method, interior living areas are effectively isolated from noise and vibration, delivering an exceptionally quiet navigation experience even across large open volumes.

Technology, once a visible statement of innovation, has become an enabler of effortlessness, enhancing luxury precisely because it fades into the background, allowing owners to focus on living, not systems. The most successful yachts are those where technology is felt rather than seen

Alfresco living
If interiors now feel residential, exterior decks have become the social heart of the yacht. Beach clubs, sundecks, and upper-deck alfresco areas are where owners and guests spend most of their time, driving a rethinking of scale, layout, and flexibility. “Exterior spaces are no longer secondary zones,” says Pellacani. “They are carefully configured in collaboration with owners to reflect how they entertain, relax, and spend time with family.”

For Benetti, this shift has prompted a fundamental redesign philosophy. “Historically, exterior lines dictated the layout. Today, that relationship has been inverted,” explains Petrozzi. “We no longer simply design a silhouette; we shape the yacht around the desired experience.” Features like the Oasis Deck®, Veranda Deck®, and Cabana Deck™ are, she adds, “not merely aesthetic choices, but architectural responses to a new way of living at sea, where the exterior lines fluidly adapt to support social interaction and a deeper connection with the water.”

On the Custom Line 50, this philosophy is expressed through a two-level beach club at sea level, while the Navetta 38 features a 700-square-foot sundeck with distinct yet flowing zones, from a sea-view Jacuzzi to lounge areas and a midship bar. Baglietto echoes this shift toward multifunctional outdoor living. Clean exterior lines, generous open-air decks, and enclosed alfresco zones reflect owners’ desires for panoramic views and uninterrupted contact with the sea, while maintaining the refinement expected of a luxury yacht.

Looking ahead
As the next decade unfolds, one theme unites all these developments: yachts are becoming more human-centric. Personalization, wellbeing, and intelligent technology are shaping designs that respond intuitively to the way owners live on board. Flexibility, in both layout and concept, is now a defining value, allowing yachts to evolve alongside the people who own them. “The next generation of yachts directly mirrors the values of a new class of owners who prioritize elegance and efficiency,” says Petrozzi. “Authenticity has become the ultimate form of exclusivity.”

“Ultimately, the future of superyacht design lies in creating spaces that are inspiring yet practical,” Pellacani concludes. “[These are]yachts that combine advanced technology, with thoughtful human-centered design; vessels not just to be admired, but truly lived in.” In redefining luxury through experience rather than excess, Italy’s leading shipyards are not simply responding to change, but actively shaping a new language of life at sea, where the ultimate luxury is how a yacht makes you feel the moment you step on board.