From 13 to 15 May, La Spezia will turn into the beating heart of nautical design, hosting the second edition of the Blue Design Summit (BDS25). The initiative will offer three intense days of meetings, conventions, technical visits, and networking moments, designed to bring together the protagonists of the entire supply chain of living on the water: from design to construction, up to the refitting of superyachts, cruises, waterfronts, and marinas.
Organised by Clickutility Team and Promostudi La Spezia, under the patronage of La Spezia City Council and the Port Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea, the summit is promoted by Miglio Blu and will take place in the setting of the Teatro Civico, symbol of the city and meeting point of excellence for an event that aims to combine design vision, innovation, and sea culture.
The theme of the 2025 edition is ‘From Water to Design’, a claim that sums up the summit’s vocation: to narrate the evolution of nautical design starting from its primary matrix, water. The objective is ambitious: to photograph the state of the art of the sector and, at the same time, to draw the routes of the future, between traditional craftsmanship and cutting-edge technologies, sustainability and new business scenarios.
The absolute protagonist will once again be the world of superyachts, a sector in which Italy holds an undisputed leadership. With 572 units under construction out of a world total of 1,138, our country accounts for over 50% of global production.
A supremacy that is also reflected in export figures, with a record value of 4.5 billion euro in 2024 (data from Confindustria Nautica). But that’s not all: this know-how is also being transferred with growing success to other segments of living on the water, such as luxury tourism, integrated services, and floating hospitality.
Confirming La Spezia’s strategic role in the nautical scene worldwide, Mayor Pierluigi Peracchini says: “La Spezia confirms itself as an international reference point for boating and design, as demonstrated by the latest report on the Sea Economy, which reports an added value generated in the sector of over 1 billion 145.3 million Euros, placing us first in Italy for the incidence of the Sea Economy on the total economy, and with a total employment of over 14 thousand people. Moreover, La Spezia recently won the national selection for entry into the Network of UNESCO Creative Cities for Design, which now launches us into the international phase. This candidacy is the result of a long process of enhancement that has made our city an international reference point in the nautical sector. We are the nautical capital of the world, a district of excellence where yachts and mega-yachts destined for global markets are designed and built, thanks to the presence of leading companies and some of the biggest names in nautical design. Moreover, thanks to the realisation of the Blue Mile project, La Spezia continues to strengthen its role of excellence, promoting innovation, research and development in a strategic area for the future. Hosting the second edition of the Blue Design Summit is another concrete testimony of our city’s centrality in the nautical design scene. This event represents a unique opportunity to bring together the protagonists of the supply chain, promote innovation, research, and training, and enhance our University Campus, a true excellence of the area.”
BDS25 will also be the occasion to award the Blue Design Awards, now in their second year. The awards, curated by an independent scientific committee made up of designers, journalists and industry experts, celebrate design excellence in its multiple aspects and valorise visions capable of innovating the world of nautical design.
Patrizia Saccone, Councillor for the Municipality of La Spezia, declares: “La Spezia is confirmed as a world excellence in the nautical sector, capable of combining tradition and innovation in a unique ecosystem, of which the Miglio Blu is the beating heart. A district that hosts the most prestigious shipyards, research centres and best practices in the sector, a real laboratory where the future of the boating industry is defined“.
Blue Design Summit not only provides an in-depth overview of the contemporary nautical sector, but also aims to consolidate the link between design and the aquatic element.
