Azimut Yachts

Paolo Vitelli founded Azimut in 1969 as a charter and distribution venture in Turin; own production followed in the late 1970s, and the 1985 purchase of the historic Benetti yard in Viareggio created the Azimut|Benetti Group. Landlocked Avigliana became, improbably, the assembly point of one of the world's most prolific yacht ranges.

Azimut industrialised the Italian flybridge and pushed composite engineering further than its peers, using carbon fibre in superstructures to add deck space without top weight — the basis of its Fly, S, Grande, Magellano and Verve collections. Styled for years by Stefano Righini and Alberto Mancini, with interiors from names like Achille Salvagni, the group has long ranked among the world's largest producers of yachts over 24 metres and remains family-controlled, now chaired by Giovanna Vitelli.