Porto Cervo and the granite coves
In the north east of Sardinia, in the municipality of Arzachena, the Costa Smeralda, the "Emerald Coast", is one of the most famous and exclusive seaside destinations in the world. Until the 1950s it was a wild, almost uninhabited coast of granite rocks and Mediterranean scrub, used only by shepherds; in 1962 a consortium of investors led by the Aga Khan IV bought it and began to develop it as a luxury resort, with strict architectural rules that require buildings to blend into the landscape, with natural stone, pastel colours and rounded shapes.
Its heart is Porto Cervo, a village designed by architects such as Luigi Vietti and Jacques Couëlle, with a piazzetta, luxury boutiques, a yacht marina among the most exclusive in the Mediterranean, and the church of Stella Maris, with a painting attributed to El Greco. The coast is a sequence of about 55 kilometres of coves and beaches of white sand and crystal-clear emerald water, between pink granite rocks sculpted by the wind: Capriccioli, Romazzino, Liscia Ruja, the Spiaggia del Principe, considered by the Aga Khan the most beautiful, and Cala di Volpe, with its famous hotel. In summer, the Costa Smeralda is a meeting place for the international jet set, with yachts, nightclubs and parties, but in the off season it is surprisingly quiet.
Tip: beaches are free, but parking in summer is expensive and limited; the nuragic sites of Arzachena are a short drive inland.
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