Founded in 1920 in Terni, CELI originated as a substantial workshop producing furnishings and joinery for civic buildings, religious institutions, and colleges. Work progressed according to the quiet, exacting rhythm of the artisan, marked by an almost uncompromising attention to detail, where every element was refined until it reached full precision.
As demand increased, the workshop evolved into an industrial facility, employing more than two hundred craftsmen and workers trained according to strict production discipline. Growth occurred without abandoning control: technical rigour and organisational clarity became enduring characteristics of the company.
The outbreak of the Second World War placed a serious strain on the future of the enterprise, interrupting a phase of steady consolidation and expansion.

In the years following the war, CELI resumed activity through the return of its most skilled master woodworkers, restoring production along lines shaped by experience and shared technical knowledge. The reconstruction period did not introduce a break, but rather reaffirmed the company’s established way of working.
While continuing to serve religious institutions and educational buildings, CELI progressively expanded its scope towards interiors of greater architectural and representational complexity. Throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s, craft expertise was applied to increasingly demanding projects, maintaining coherence between function, execution, and material discipline.
This period consolidated a working culture grounded in precision, restraint, and continuity, principles that would remain central to the company’s evolution in the decades that followed.

As Italy enters a phase of economic expansion, CELI consolidates its role in high-end interior production. Projects grow in scale and complexity, and the company refines its ability to translate architectural intent into precise execution, strengthening its position as a specialised technical partner.

Among the most enduring collaborations in CELI’s history is that with Pierluigi Spadolini, developed across the 1970s and 1980s. During these years, CELI was entrusted with the execution of interiors for major institutional buildings, including the Camera di Commercio of Florence (1970s), the Palazzo di Confindustria in Rome (1974) and the Palazzo di Giustizia in Turin (1980s). These projects required a rigorous command of materials, scale and detail, where interior architecture was conceived as an extension of civic identity, demanding precision, durability and formal restraint.

Selected by Renzo Piano during the design of the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, CELI contributed to a project developed over nearly eight years and completed in 2002. Archival records confirm that CELI was responsible for the execution of the Sala del Coro and the Sala Santa Cecilia, where extensive wooden surfaces form an integral part of the architectural and acoustic system. Here, craftsmanship operates as a precise technical discipline, ensuring continuity between form, material behaviour and sound performance.

In the early 2000s, CELI extends its expertise to the field of high-end hospitality, where interior architecture must balance representation, comfort and long-term performance. During this period, designer Luigi Sturchio entrusted CELI with the execution of the interiors for the Hotel Majestic in Rome, a project that exemplifies the company’s ability to translate refined design concepts into controlled, enduring spaces. Hospitality becomes a natural terrain for CELI’s disciplined approach, where craftsmanship operates in service of experience, functionality and atmosphere.

In 2013, CELI formally enters the contemporary nautical sector with its first complete yacht interior project: MY Cacos V, a 40-metre motor yacht built by Admiral Yachts and designed by Luca Dini Design & Architecture.
The project represents a decisive translation of CELI’s expertise in bespoke interiors into the maritime domain, requiring adaptation to the technical, structural, and material constraints specific to yacht construction.
Following its delivery, Cacos V received international recognition, winning multiple industry awards in 2014, including at the World Superyacht Awards, the ShowBoats Design Awards, the International Yacht & Aviation Awards, and Robb Report’s Best of the Best.

In contexts where public projects were increasingly exposed to procedural complexity and extended financial timelines, operational continuity depended on the ability to balance different sectors with distinct rhythms and certainties.
The nautical domain, governed by clearer programmes and a culture of accountability, offered a framework in which long-term craftsmanship, precision, and responsibility could continue to be exercised without compromise.

In 2023, CELI entered a new investment phase following its integration into The Italian Sea Group, within a strategy of vertical integration across the nautical supply chain.
The programme included the expansion of CELI’s headquarters and the acquisition of two additional production sites, enabling a doubling of manufacturing capacity, alongside targeted investments in organisational infrastructure.
A structured recruitment plan was approved, providing for the hiring of 40 new professionals, supported by dedicated training initiatives, with the dual objective of strengthening yacht-building programmes and expanding CELI’s activity in high-end civil and hospitality interiors.

Today, CELI operates within The Italian Sea Group as a specialised partner for bespoke yacht interiors and selected high-end civil and hospitality projects.
Its work is defined by full process control, from engineering to execution, where artisanal knowledge is supported by industrial organisation.
Expanded capacity and a reinforced technical team allow CELI to operate with continuity and precision in environments where durability, responsibility, and coherence are essential.