Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Costa Smeralda, technically a brand rather than a geographical area, was ideated and commissioned in ...
[+] the early 1960s by Prince Karim Aga Khan. getty Sixty-five years ago, the stretch of north Sardinian coastline now home to Costa Smeralda was a wilderness of curious rock formations, Mediterranean scrub and pale sand beaches, not yet graced by the current concentration of five-star hotels and upscale boutiques. Costa Smeralda, technically a brand rather than a geographical area, was ideated and commissioned in the early 1960s by Prince Karim Aga Khan.
The plan was to create a luxury retreat on the Italian island to cater to the jet set that normally patronized the likes of Cannes and St Tropez. Two giant rocks mark the beginning and end of the 55-kilometer-long area managed by the Consorzio Costa Smeralda, a consortium of property owners that oversees everything from the architectural integrity to the cleaning of the beaches. 97% of the land here is protected and will always remain undeveloped and hotel operators are not permitted to change or develop properties.
The resort has become iconic for its low, rough-hewn buildings styled like a Moorish-Greek mashup (Khan stipulated that all structures should not be higher than the level of the surrounding vegetation), labyrinthine passages and tiled Piazzetta square of Porto Cervo, the main hamlet. The resort has become iconic for its low, rough-hewn buildings styled like .