A rare big-yacht home berth opens beside the Tuscan yards

A new marina at the mouth of Tuscany

Construction on Marina Livorno began in September 2025 inside the historic Port of Livorno, on Italy's Tuscan coast. The berth operator D-Marin is building it with the Azimut Benetti Group, in a project reported at around EUR 20 million and designed by the Florence studio Archea Associati. The plan sets out 815 berths for yachts from 15 to 80 metres, opened in phases, with a first tranche of 336 berths through 2026 and full completion set for autumn 2027. Andrea De Santis, chief operating officer of D-Marin, said the project reflects a belief that 'premium yachting and environmental responsibility can and must advance together.'

Livorno sits at the top of the Tyrrhenian, a short run from Elba, the Tuscan archipelago and the Corsican coast, and within reach of Portofino and the Ligurian Riviera. It also sits beside the Viareggio and La Spezia yards that dominate Italian new-build and refit work. For an owner that puts a cruising base and a service base in one region, in a part of the Med that has long run short of quality berths for bigger yachts.

Why the berth is worth locking in

Western Mediterranean berthing has tightened for years as the fleet has grown and average length has climbed. Livorno is one of several 2026 answers to that squeeze. Palma's Club de Mar reopens this year after a long redevelopment, with hundreds of berths and dedicated moorings for the largest yachts, and D-Marin has been expanding its own network of Mediterranean marinas. New capacity for the biggest yachts remains scarce and tends to be booked well ahead.

Berthing is a standing cost that rarely falls, and a long annual or multi-year contract at a marquee marina can be hard to win once a port matures. An owner weighing a Tuscan base has a window to lock in position while Livorno is still filling. A confirmed home berth near the yards also shortens the logistics around a refit, and it is one of the quiet details that supports a yacht's charter appeal and its resale value.

A builder-linked marina with an ESG badge

The design leans on solar canopies, rainwater recovery systems and green walls, and D-Marin has pointed to an EcoVadis Gold rating for its environmental, social and governance performance. The tie to Azimut Benetti is notable in itself. The group is the largest force in Italian superyacht building, and a marina backed by a builder puts berthing and service closer together than most ports manage.

For a buyer specifying a new Italian yacht, a berth network linked to the builder is a service argument as much as a lifestyle one. ESG credentials are also moving from nice-to-have toward requirement, as charter clients ask harder questions and regulators pay closer attention to emissions. A marina that can show its own green rating is easier to defend in that climate, and it hedges an owner against the reporting burden coming down the line.