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LOFT SPOTLIGHT: Doyle Sails Italy

The Italian city of Palermo on the island of Sicily has been the home to Doyle Sails Italy for over 20 years – a city steeped in culture and history offering one of the most picturesque sailing destinations on the Mediterranean Sea.

With so many Superyachts, racers and cruisers calling the Mediterranean home, Salvo D’Amico, Mario Giattino and their Italian team have fortified their position offering world-class sales and service support to their clients throughout Italy and the Mediterranean. 

As one of the original lofts to join the Doyle Sails group, the Italian team now boast one of the most extensive European sail making facilities. Currently operating primarily out of Palermo, with a 3,000 sqm loft and two subsidiary locations in La Spezia and Porto Cervo all owned and operated by the same Italian team. The three sites allow for a faster and more efficient turnaround, currently employing more than 20 full-time staff with more than 20 years of experience in sailmaking for both racing and cruising.

In 2018, the Porto Cervo facility was established to ensure that the racing market in Sardinia, home to some of the most high profile yachts and regatta’s in the area, were all taken care of to the high standard that Doyle Sails is known to deliver. While, the service loft in La Spezia strengthens the Doyle presence in Northern Italy, which allows for an efficient turnaround to those that cruise the further North. 

While Doyle Sails Italy is owned and operated by Mario and Salvo, they are proud to be part of the Doyle Sails network of sailors and sailmakers, where a culture for sharing and developing knowledge and skills to create the most advanced sails on the market is rife. As with all Doyle Sails lofts that service Superyachts, a close working relationship with Doyle Sails New Zealand is paramount and together build sails for some of the most spectacular Superyachts. 

Working with some of the most well-known Italian shipbuilding yards, Doyle Sails Italy designs and builds a large number of inventories for both superyachts and large cruising vessels, including the newly launched Solaris 111, Southern Wind Power of 2, Perini 60m Seven, Perini 56m Rosehearty and Perini 56m Caoz 14.

People have always been at the heart of Doyle Sails, with the commitment to connecting the world-class sailors with the sailors who choose to work with Doyle Sails. Doyle Sails Italy live and breathe this ethos – with an experienced team who have been in the sailmaking industry for more than thirty years, and designers who have been designing sails since 1979, and sailmaker industry experience averaging 20 years. The loft is well equipped to work with all sails from Tall Ships, to Classic and Modern Cruisers, Club Racers and One Design, to Round the World Racers or Cruisers alike.

Leading the team is Managing Director, Salvo D’Amico, a sailor at heart. Having been a member of the Italian Sailing team in both Olympic and Federal classes, winning several Italian titles along the way. As his career evolved, he continued his sailing in offshore and inshore racing. 

Salvo grew up a few meters from the sea and started sailing when he was only five years old. From his first sail in an Optimist, his sailing has continued to evolve. While sailing the Laser, Salvo was fortunate enough to be personally coached by top Italian sailor Francesco Bruni, the helmsman of Luna Rossa, and a shareholder of Doyle Italy.

The Doyle Sails Italy team is strengthened further by Mario Giattino, who has been with Doyle Sails since 1997. In 2007, he was the man behind the first Doyle Sails Italy loft which was responsible for the production of Superyacht sails in Italy and since then has managed all Superyacht projects that this loft has in progress.

Mario started sailing when he was in high school, and was one of the youngest Federal sailing instructors.

His passion for sailing and a considerable number of local and national races pushed him to look for a job in the sailmaking industry when he was still studying at University. Almost immediately he began to work with Doyle, making him now one of the longest-serving Doyle Sails team members worldwide. 

As a sailmaker with Doyle Sails, he was fortunate to be able to spend a large part of his career sailing in many different regattas, ranging from inshore 30-foot racing boats up to the largest Superyachts. Just as an example, he has sailed in every Perini Navi Cup since its inaugural event. 

This hands-on approach and team member mentality of a Doyle Sails expert, meant his knowledge and understanding of the “secrets” behind the success of a sail continued to strengthen. Mario ensures that for all projects, there is a complete understanding of the clients’ so that the design and engineering of each sail is perfect; coupled with his knowledge of the highest standards for production.

Marco Bruni comes from a long line of sailors and a passionate family. His oldest brother, Francesco, is one of the most successful sailors in the world, with the participation in three Olympic Games in three different classes (Laser, 49er and Star), he has won 7 x World, 5 x European and 15 x National Championships in different classes, and been involved in 4 x America’s Cup campaigns. Marco’s other brother, Gabriele, was at the Olympics with Francesco in the 49er, and after an America’s Cup campaign, he is now the coach of the Italian Nacra team.

When Marco was 15, he began to follow in his brothers footsteps, when he became a national Laser coach, obtaining great results with his team – following on from that, he became a sailmaker and has been since 2000

The knowledge and expertise that is available with Doyle Sails is second to none, the drive our sailors and sailmakers have to deliver performance and quality sails to every client is hard to match – Doyle Sails Italy is no different. Salvo, Mario and Marco are joined by sailing heavyweights Max Sirena and Francesco Bruni who assist with the development of technology in the racing arenas. Having professional sailors on the team and at the coal face of Grand Prix and Superyacht sailing helps to close the loop back to designers who continually push the boundaries of sail design and delivering high performance, high-quality sails.

You can find more information or contact Doyle Sails Italy HERE.

ABOUT DOYLE SAILS // Around the world, Doyle Sails has over 500 sailmakers in 46 different locations, all equally passionate about sailing – living and breathing our ethos ’Global Leaders and Local Experts.’

As sailors, our obsession with sailing connects us to the water. The water is our playground, a sanctuary where we seek enjoyment, a competitive playing field where we race as competitors; it’s sometimes our home and always a place that unlocks our sense of adventure wherever that adventure might take us. Behind every adventure is a Doyle sailor who shares this same obsession as you. We put your journey at the very heart of what we do to deliver the ultimate enjoyment and performance, powering our constant need to push the boundaries in sail design and innovation, to reimagine sailing.

From dinghies, club racers and cruising yachts through to Grand Prix campaigns and Superyachts, we are your experts. Meet our team here.

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