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Architect Dante Benini laughs when he recalls how his

involvement inSevenbegan. “I had just delivered a lecture at an

economic conference in Italy. My talk was on the value of

making an investment in quality architecture. The chairman of

the session came on stage after my talk and said ‘Well, now I have

found the architect for my next project.’ He said that in front of

about 1,000 people! I had no idea what he was talking about.”

When the conference concluded, Benini hurried to find

the chairman to thank him. “I thought perhaps it was just a

casual remark, but he said he was serious. I stood there waiting

for him to say he was making a building or something but he

said ‘I want you to design my boat.’” Benini was ecstatic. “For

me, a boat is life! In my life, I have had just a few times with

this kind of emotion.”

While Dante O Benini & Partners Architects is best known

for commercial buildings and large-scale urban planning, it has

also worked on the interiors of residences and cozy restaurants,

designed furniture and a few yachts, such as Sanlorenzo’s 82ft

series in 2000 and the Spider Special Edition for Cantieri di

Sarnico in 2010. Its first custom yacht was the 164ft CRNJameel,

formerlyEastern Star, the royal yacht of Bahrain – not a bad start.

For his new client, Ennio Doris, boats have become a way

of life. This self-made Italian insurance and banking tycoon

hails from land-locked Tombolo, a small town north-west of

Venice, but his prowess at selling financial services quickly

propelled him out of the countryside and eventually to found

Mediolanum Group based in Milan.

At some point, clients introduced him to sailing and it

became a family activity once he acquired a 132ft Perini,

Principessa Vaivia, from Silvio Berlusconi in 1992. His wife,

son, daughter and his daughter’s family made good use of the

boat every summer with Doris visiting for a week at the

beginning of the season and then once during the summer

holiday. Alas, as the number of grandchildren increased to

seven,Principessa Vaiviacould no longer host the entire family

• they took their vacations in shifts.
  One day Fabio Perini called with an ofer. A customer who
  had ordered a 197 footer now wanted out of the deal. It would be
  just the right size for the Doris family to once again sail together.
  The metalwork had been started but it was at a stage where the
  family could design its living areas as they wished. Despite their
  fondness forPrincipessaand its memories, such as winning the

“I was designing for people

in their 70s as well as young

teens – a tough audience”

JUNE 2018