CRN Ciao, CRN’s all-aluminium true custom yacht, was awarded the prestigious ISS Design and Leadership Award in the Best in Motor <500 GT (above 24m) category. The award was presented on Thursday 26th October during a gala evening in the elegant setting of The Ritz-Carlton in Fort Lauderdale Beach, in the presence of the most authoritative representatives of the nautical world. (Here all our posts about CRN)
Designed by Omega Architects
After the 73-metre Yalla launched in 2014 and the 62-metre RIO launched in 2022, the CRN Ciao is the third collaboration between CRN, a bespoke Ferretti Group brand, and the Dutch Omega Architects studio. The 52-metre Ciao was designed, engineered and constructed in Ancona at the Ferretti Group Superyacht Yard. The superyacht is an aluminium build with large open-air areas that interact seamlessly with the interior spaces.
The yacht’s layout and custom axe-bow profile combine to emphasise its dynamic personality, enhanced by the full-height shaded windows on the main and upper decks and the stern arcs, the design hallmarks of Frank Laupman, the founder of Omega Architects. The extended curved elements add a sleek elegance to the yacht’s profile, protecting the deck while leaving an uninterrupted side view from the lounge area onto the large swimming pool flanked by the stairs down to the stern platform.
CRN Ciao, the lounge area
The lounge area is an introduction to the constant interplay between exteriors and interiors that is such a distinctive feature of the Ciao, taking the form of a sliding window that opens into the bright, elegant open-space main saloon. Here, the Massari Design architectural studio has provided the first example of the meticulous handling of the yacht’s interior design, creating an exclusive décor concept through the skilful use of select materials by the Zago furnishings studio, a Ferretti Group brand.
Stunning exteriors areas
We then return to the exterior spaces, starting with aft terrace on the lower deck with its sea-level platform hosting a beach club with bar, hammam and wellness space. A second terrace on the aft upper deck is furnished with sofas and coffee table. It extends into an open-air dining area sheltered by glass screens that allow guests to remain in close contact with the sea.
Like the main deck lounge area, the upper deck terrace connects directly with the sky lounge interior, which can be transformed into a cinema with maxi-screen. Moving forward, access to the skipper’s cabin and helm station is on the port side. The bridge is equipped with cutting edge navigation systems and provides a sweeping view of the sea.
An equally panoramic view can be enjoyed from the sundeck, whose central section features a large T-top shading a table for ten diners, custom-made like the table on the upper deck terrace, and a bar with horseshoe-shape top that acts as an element separating the swimming pool area with hydromassage from the sunbathing area.
CRN Ciao is a real beskpoke yacht
Like all CRN builds, Ciao benefits not only from the yard’s know-how but also its passion and drive to create unique yachts, combining exterior areas designed to host social activities with interiors that blend simplicity with clean shapes, made possible by the use of materials like oak and walnut for the floors and walls and Bronze Amani marble in the bathrooms together with furnishings and fabrics in colours like orange and gold-flecked sand.
All this is enhanced by unique elements that show just how exclusive this build is, like the hand-worked metal panels on the main and upper deck saloon walls and the stairways between decks. This is also evident in the striking hand-made wallpaper in the full-beam owner’s suite on the forward main deck. As throughout the yacht, this space is lit by floor-to-ceiling windows and as well as the suite and study it features a large wardrobe and two bathrooms with pass-through shower.
Oak, walnut, varnished surfaces and leather are also to be found in the four double guest cabins on the lower deck. Two forward and two aft of the central space, they showcas the warm, intense, embracing colours throughout the interiors on board the Ciao, a superyacht where CRN has once again demonstrated its design and production skills, combined with the creativity and bespoke expertise that have earned it a worldwide reputation.
Emilio Martinelli