The Name
Riva has been building boats since 1842. Not 1942. 1842. When Carlo Riva was shaping mahogany hulls on the shores of Lake Iseo, the internal combustion engine did not exist. Italy was not yet a country. The brand has survived two world wars, multiple ownership changes, and the complete transformation of the global yachting industry. It has never stopped building.
The 130 Bellissima is the current flagship. It is the largest yacht Riva produces, the top of a range that starts with the 38-foot Rivale and scales up through a lineup that includes some of the most recognized silhouettes in Mediterranean harbors. Riva does not build superyachts for the sake of scale. The 130 exists because the brand had something to say at this size, and the only way to say it was in polished rosewood, steel, and 131 feet of glass-reinforced hull.
The Hull
The Bellissima is a tri-deck motor yacht with a planing hull built from GRP and carbon fiber. She is designed by Mauro Micheli and Sergio Beretta of Officina Italiana Design, the studio that has defined Riva's visual language for decades. The hull form is semi-displacement at cruise and planing at speed, a compromise that gives the Bellissima something most yachts her size do not have: pace.
Twin MTU 16V 2000 M96L engines produce a combined 5,276 horsepower. Top speed is 26 knots. Cruising speed is 22. For a 131-foot yacht, those numbers are not theoretical. They are the reason the Bellissima can reposition from Portofino to Sardinia between lunch and dinner without rushing.
The Interior
Walking into the main salon of the Bellissima is the moment when the boat stops being a boat and becomes an argument for living on the water permanently. The ceiling height exceeds two meters throughout the main and upper decks. The glazing wraps 270 degrees. Natural light fills the space in a way that most apartment buildings in Manhattan cannot replicate.
The material palette is quintessential Riva: polished rosewood, brushed steel, full-grain leather, and glass. Every panel is book-matched. Every surface joint is flush. The craftsmanship is not decorative. It is structural. The wood is not veneer. It is solid, hand-finished, and it smells exactly the way a Riva should.
The master suite occupies the full beam of the main deck. It includes an office, a walk-in wardrobe, and his-and-hers en-suite bathrooms. The bed faces forward. When the yacht is at anchor, you wake up looking directly at the horizon through floor-to-ceiling glass. Four additional guest cabins sit on the lower deck, each with en-suite facilities and the same rosewood-and-leather treatment.
A dramatic architectural staircase connects the three decks. It is the centerpiece of the interior, an open spiral in steel and glass that does not merely move people between floors. It makes a statement about vertical space that most yacht interiors do not attempt.
The Bellissima does not feel like a yacht inside. It feels like a residence that happens to move at 26 knots.
On the Water
The stern of the Bellissima opens into a full beach club. The transom platform folds down to water level, creating a private swimming platform, tender dock, and launching point for jet skis and paddleboards. When deployed, the beach club extends the usable outdoor space by nearly 30 percent. When closed, the yacht's lines remain unbroken.
The foredeck includes a sunpad area and a plunge pool that doubles as a jacuzzi. The flybridge is the social center: dining for twelve, a wet bar, sun loungers, and unobstructed sightlines in every direction. At anchor in a Sardinian cove, with the beach club deployed and the sun hitting the water at the right angle, the Bellissima does not feel like a possession. It feels like a planet.
Crew quarters accommodate seven. The galley is positioned for invisible service. Meals arrive. Drinks appear. The operational layer is entirely below deck and entirely silent.
The Price
A new Riva 130 Bellissima starts at approximately €19.5 million. By the time the owner has specified the wood finish, the marble, the custom soft goods, and the tender configuration, the final number is closer to €22-25 million. Pre-owned examples, of which there are very few, trade in the $25 million range.
Annual operating costs for a yacht this size, crew, insurance, maintenance, marina fees, and fuel, run between $2-3 million depending on usage patterns and geography. This is not a number that surprises anyone who is buying at this level. It is simply the cost of having 131 feet of rosewood and carbon fiber ready to move when you are.
If you are chartering to test the format before committing, or if you need the positioning flight to the Mediterranean handled alongside the charter schedule, that is a conversation we have regularly.
