Lia Riva: Love of the Runabout

At the foot of the Rock, Monaco Boat Service is an institution. Now managed by Lia Riva, daughter of the late Carlo Riva (founder of the eponymous brand), this company has been distributing and marketing the iconic motor boats and motor yachts of the Italian shipyard in France and Monaco since 1959. When young Carlo Riva, known as “L'Ingegnere”, aged only 37, decided to build an impressive 100-meter-long (12-meter high) storage tunnel under the Monaco Palace, with the blessing of Prince Rainier. An operation carried out with dynamite at full speed. ”The windows of the Prince's Palace had shaken”, says Lia Riva. The idea was to be able to accommodate nearly 200 wooden boats there in a constant temperature and humidity for better conservation in winter. ”You are the first to pull strings in the sea”, the monarch also wrote when he saw the first two floating docks of Monaco Boat Service (MBS) installed in the heart of Port Hercules. Over time, this place has become one of the most important Riva dealerships in Europe and especially the meeting place for fans of the transalpine brand. Inside the tunnel, time seems to have stopped. A magical place full of history that has not changed sixty years later, still with collector's runabouts in mahogany, Ariston, Florida or Aquarama, stored near more modern motor boats from the Riva range.

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Nostalgia when you hold us? Lia Riva spent a good part of her childhood a few meters from the Riva shipyard in Sarnico in Italy, located on the shores of Lake Iseo, immersed, from an early age, in the world of motorboats. “My dad was very good friends with Ingrid Bergmann. Kings, emirs, stars or the big bosses of the time, like Giovanni Agnelli (Editor's note: the founder of Fiat) came to see the boats under construction at the shipyard. There was passion in manufacturing. The wood was placed in a shed where it had to dry for several years. It gave off an incredible scent of mahogany wood and African essences.”, likes to recall our company manager, who now counts many sports and entertainment personalities as customers. We think of the Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc or the singer Elton John. Come summer, they enjoy sailing on board Riva yachts with a modern design, the iconic brand now offering a range of units ranging in size between 8 and 50 meters.

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Today, this great lover of art and culture is committed to maintaining the tradition and timeless elegance of Riva boats, while adapting them to modern requirements. Dynamic and committed, Lia Riva regularly organizes prestigious events on the French Riviera, such as the Riva Trophy for Riva owners and some “happy fews”, as well as charity sales in the heart of the mythical tunnel so dear to her father and to lovers of the brand, which is famous worldwide for its legendary mahogany runabouts.

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Cover: Riva Classiche © RR