Alberto Pinto was born in Casablanca in 1943. His family of Sephardic Jewish heritage had cultural references ranging across Morocco, France, and the broader Mediterranean, a childhood spent among multiple languages, multiple aesthetic traditions, and the particular cosmopolitanism that characterised North African port cities before independence.
He studied at the École du Louvre in Paris, trained his eye through photography, and by the 1970s had established Cabinet Alberto Pinto in a 17th-century hôtel particulier on Place des Victoires, where a team that would eventually number sixty worked on projects ranging from corporate headquarters to royal palaces across multiple continents.
Alberto Pinto (1943–2012), the legendary Parisian interior architect
Alberto Pinto's eclectic approach: layered textures, curated art, and bold decorative elements
Understanding Scale
Pinto understood something that many interior designers never grasp: large spaces require different thinking than small ones, and the challenge is not to fill them but to make them feel inhabited, to create intimacy within grandeur, to ensure that human beings feel comfortable rather than diminished by the architecture surrounding them.
"I have no specific style or period that I am especially fond of, but I am enamoured with immense rooms, partly because I pride myself on knowing how to bring together immensity and comfort."
This sensibility made him the ideal collaborator for a yacht of ALFA NERO's scale and ambition.
The formal dining area showcasing Pinto's signature bold patterns
The ALFA NERO Interior
The interior of ALFA NERO was conceived through a collaboration between Nuvolari Lenard, who developed the spatial layout and functional planning, and Alberto Pinto, who created the decorative scheme, material palette, and artistic direction. Pinto's vision draws on pop art and Art Deco influences, incorporating a monochrome base accented by coordinated colour, modern art, and intricate textures throughout 1,250 square metres of living space.
ALFA NERO's interior is home to an impressive collection of modern and contemporary art, with original works by Roy Lichtenstein, Joan Miro, Takashi Murakami, Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, and Marc Chagall. These are not merely decorative additions but integral to the yacht's identity, selected to complement Pinto's design language and positioned throughout the main salon, upper salon, guest corridors, and VIP suites. Major Lichtenstein lithographs hang from the wenge wood panels in the main salon, while vibrant Murakami works inject colour into the upper deck spaces.
The main salon features a grand Pleyel piano, finished in black lacquer with an intricate white wave pattern etched across its surface. Scalloped wall panels lacquered in white create a mother-of-pearl effect, while zig-zag woodwork and bold striped flooring carry graphic motifs throughout the vessel.
Each guest cabin features unique colour coordination and decorative elements
A Unifying Vision
Each of the six guest cabins was conceived as a unique environment, with individually coordinated colours, materials, and decorative elements. A unifying coral theme connects the spaces: sea creatures appear on coverlets and cushions, sconces are wrapped with branches of coral, and bathroom floors are finished in mosaics of black slate and marble.
A glass-enclosed elevator glides from lower to upper decks, passing tall crystal sculptures and a circular wraparound staircase lined with leather mosaic. The vertical journey through the yacht is itself a designed experience.
"The interior reflects the work of the late Alberto Pinto, one of the most influential interior designers, known for major commissions such as The Lanesborough in London, as well as private residences and aircraft interiors, projects where clarity of layout and confidence of scale were essential."
Legacy
Alberto Pinto passed away in 2012 at the age of 69. His sister and business partner, Linda Pinto, continues to lead Cabinet Alberto Pinto from their Paris headquarters, carrying forward his vision across ongoing yacht, aviation, and residential commissions.
On board ALFA NERO, this sensibility translates into spaces that feel composed and deliberate, prioritising volume, light, and proportion over decoration or short-term fashion. His work onboard ALFA NERO earned the yacht recognition for Best Interior Design at the World Superyacht Awards 2008.
Alberto Pinto's vision: the designer, bespoke ALFA NERO leather details, and his signature interior style
Alberto Pinto
Born
1943, Casablanca
Studio
Cabinet Alberto Pinto, Paris
Notable Projects
The Lanesborough London, royal palaces, private jets
