ALL PHOTOS: Marc Paris
“The famous shipyard with the stairs managed to do a boat without stairs,” jokes Marcello Maggi, president and co-founder of ISA. He’s referring to ISA’s Liberty, a 164-footer (50-meter) that’s more traditional in design than previous ISA launches, which featured its now-iconic curving aft staircases. While those stairways became a signature style early on for ISA megayachts, the Italian yard is not identified by one style alone. Rather, it offers three distinctly different lines, targeted to sporty clients, buyers more oriented toward the luxury lifestyle, and clients who like traditional yachts with full-beam spaces. Liberty, the first megayacht in the new ISA 500 series, is an example of the latter—but she’s also an example of how traditional can interestingly become contemporary.
The hallmarks of ISA’s traditional megayachts, which ISA calls Super Classic models, are all found aboard Liberty. She’s a trideck design containing full-beam master suite on the main deck and a full-beam skylounge. But from her saloon to her staterooms, Liberty is so highly customized that future ISA 500 series launches will bear little resemblance to her. The owner and interior designer Stefania Biondi, who marked her first yacht project with Liberty, infused each room with elements echoing the sea. Rather than be cutesy or clichéd, however, they’re strong artistic statements. Photo murals in the master suite and the guest staterooms, including the upper-deck VIP, depict creatures like sharks, turtles, fish, and coral. The fabric on the dining room chairs (below) clearly depicts coral, too, though in earthen tones.
Of course, even with her differences, ISA’s Liberty has some familiarities. No yacht would be complete without alfresco conversation/sunning areas like the one adjacent to the wheelhouse. The sundeck has plenty of space for the owner and guests to spread out. They can choose from the forward bar, the dining area beneath the shade of the hardtop, or the curving sunbed that occupies the full beam aft. Down below, the teak-lined transom becomes a terrific terrace on the sea when the RIB, dive gear, and SeaBobs are offloaded.
Here’s more of ISA’s Liberty… the boat without stairs from the famous shipyard with the stairs.
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