It is amazing what can be awakened in conversation.
Morning breaks over Italy’s beautiful Marche region. The Adriatic seems to be painted delicate shades of pale gold and Ancona is greeted with gentle clarity. It is in this beautiful city of light and legacy that the historic Italian shipyard — CRN, the bespoke brand of the Ferretti Group — calls home. Founded in 1963 by Sanzio Nicolini, the company’s exceptional heritage has carried into the 21st century, along with Italian elegance and extraordinary craftsmanship.
It’s no wonder that, upon arriving at CRN, your senses immediately recognise a space defined by precision, flow, and the quiet pulse of creativity. Stepping into the CRN headquarters, the welcome is calm and complete. The air carries a delicate fragrance, the faintest note of polished wood and beautiful leather. The staircase, its handrail smooth and cool beneath your palm, leads upwards to a space of contemporary elegance and heritage. On the walls, images capture both past and present, Ancona’s 32.80m F100, CRN’s pioneering explorer yacht from 1983, sits alongside renderings of the newest designs ranging up to 90 metres. It is tradition and innovation united in a single corridor; a taste of the bespoke quality CRN has to offer.
“Made by you, with our own hands.” is the essence of CRN’s philosophy. It embodies a dedication that CRN has to create your megayacht through beautiful collaboration with you. It is truly wonderful to see how intuitively CRN captures a vision. How they nurture it, sculpt it, and ultimately meet it with the most accomplished craftsmanship in the world. To witness this process is to understand that building a megayacht is about shaping possibility itself.
There is quiet authenticity at CRN, a presence that speaks to its rich heritage and to those who have devoted their lives to this craft. Yet beyond this tradition, a modern engineering powerhouse has been built. Every step of this grand process invites marvel, from the sheer scale of the operation, through to the meticulous attention to detail and subtle nuance. It is inevitable that you begin to imagine the moment a creation will finally meet the sea.
Every CRN yacht begins with an exchange of ideas, sketches, gestures. From there, a dedicated team forms around the owner: a project manager to oversee the process, a design director to interpret and refine, a technical director to ensure each dream is seaworthy in every detail. Every line drawn, every surface chosen, becomes part of a personal narrative. Whether the owner’s suite is placed forward to capture the same glorious golden Ancona light or perhaps stretched across an entire deck to create a sanctuary. There are very few places in the world where creativity has no fixed boundary.
CRN’s M/Y Amor à Vida is a 67.55-metre, steel-and-aluminium, full-custom displacement yacht delivered in May 2025—the first CRN to debut hybrid propulsion. With an 11.80-metre beam and 1,447 GT, she marries the shipyard’s engineering savoir-faire and build quality with Nuvolari Lenard’s creative hand on both the exterior and interiors, guided by Valentina Zannier as Interior Art Director. Spanning six decks, this entirely bespoke vessel welcomes up to 12 guests and a professional crew of 17.
Beyond CRN’s majestic offices and suites, the shipyard hums with the energy generated by skilled individuals, each with a distinct mastery, working together toward a single vision. It is an ecosystem in motion, designers and naval architects, engineers and technicians, each one contributing to something far greater than the sum of its parts. It is rather poetic and inspiring as you get to see first-hand the artistry of human ingenuity.
The hand that smooths the curve of a hull with the same care as a sculptor. The eye that aligns mahogany finishes with mathematical precision. Innovation is no longer in the abstract but in the delicate interplay of balance and perfection. The owner’s vision brought to life through disciplined design and engineering. This same commitment extends far beyond the moment of delivery. From the first handshake to the yacht’s maiden voyage and every journey thereafter, CRN remains deeply involved in the vessel’s life at sea. After-sales support, refits, conversions, and system upgrades are treated as a continuation of the creative process. In this way, the shipyard journey represents the beginning of a lifelong partnership, one that endures across years, across oceans, and through generations.
CRN’s home in Ancona is no coincidence. This region, long known for its quiet craftsmanship, has shaped some of Italy’s most enduring traditions. It is a place where artistry is instinctive, where the line between maker and artist dissolves. Ancona’s CRN shipyard at the sea is a geographical positioning that has always encouraged creation, exploration, and refinement. This confluence defines CRN’s spirit. Rooted in heritage, yet perpetually reaching forward.
Today, many CRN owners spend their summers following the rhythm of the seasons. Their bespoke megayachts are both vessels of travel and expression. Every detail and every innovation or world first, carries the signature of collaboration and intent. To lead such a project is to translate vision into form, to shape an idea with purpose until it becomes something that moves, something that lives. A personal masterpiece, always guided by the same spirit that first began in conversation, in Ancona.
