CRAFTSMANSHIP
NIELSEN BOATYARD
The startling modernist buildings on
Lake Iseo are still home to Riva today
WHERE RIVAS
MEET LAKE
Left: Final check-
ups on an Ariston.
Owners from all
over Europe and
the USA have their
Rivas transferred
to RAM for winter
storage and
maintenance
YARD VISIT
RIVA RAM
PHOTOGRAPHS KEES STUIP
T
he Riva restoration yard, based on
Lake Iseo at the foot of the Italian
Alps, is not any Riva yard. It was
founded by the late Carlo Riva himself
and is the place where these mahogany legends
were originally built, starting in the 1950s. These
days, the maintenance and restoration side are
thriving; up to 120 Rivas are wintered indoors
here, with a full commissioning service every
spring. Alongside the usual maintenance work,
there are some full rebuilds and everything in
between. Outside, up to 35 of the mahogany
legends float at the yard's moorings on the lake.
See riva-ram.it
90 CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2019