How the Aga Khan Turned a Stretch of Sardinian Scrubland Into Europe's Yacht Set Capital

The Costa Smeralda, a roughly 55-kilometre stretch of Sardinia's north-eastern coast, was largely undeveloped scrubland until 1962, when Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, flying over the area, was struck by its coves and clear water and put together a consortium of investors to develop it. The group included Aristotle Onassis among its early backers, and the resulting Consorzio Costa Smeralda imposed strict architectural rules, low-rise buildings in local stone, terracotta and muted colours, that still govern construction along the coast today.

A marina built for the boats, not the other way round

Porto Cervo, the development's centrepiece, was built around a marina designed to accommodate the growing scale of private yachts, and it has since become one of the fixed points on the Mediterranean superyacht calendar, hosting the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, founded in 1967 with the Aga Khan as its first president, and regattas including the Maxi Yacht Rolls-Royce Cup. The club's clubhouse and the marina's row of boutiques and restaurants remain the coast's main social hub through the summer season.

Building rules that shaped the coastline

Unlike much of the Mediterranean's other developed coastline, the Costa Smeralda's planning code has kept height limits low and required extensive use of local materials since the 1960s, a set of restrictions credited with keeping the coast free of the high-rise resort development seen elsewhere in southern Europe. The result is a landscape of villas and low hotel complexes set into the granite coastline rather than along a built-up strip.

Traveller tips

• Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport, around 30 minutes from Porto Cervo, is the main gateway, with seasonal direct flights from several European cities.
• July and August are the coast's busiest and most expensive weeks, coinciding with its main regatta calendar; June and September offer a quieter, still-warm alternative.
• Many of the coast's best coves are only readily reached by boat; day charters run from Porto Cervo and the nearby town of Baja Sardinia.
• Restaurant and hotel prices along the Costa Smeralda run notably higher than elsewhere in Sardinia; the island's interior and southern coast offer a markedly cheaper base for those who prefer to visit for the day.