Nights of Splendour: Jet-Set, Secrets and Social Alchemy

The Costa Smeralda became the Riviera of dreams — a place where royalty, artists, and billionaires escaped the world to create their own.

From the very beginning, Costa Smeralda was more than a holiday destination — it was a stage, and everyone who stepped onto it played their part in a real-life fairytale.

The Aga Khan knew this. He understood the power of mystery, the allure of exclusivity, and the magnetism of a place that whispers rather than shouts.

In the 1960s and 70s, the Costa Smeralda became Europe’s most private catwalk — a realm where Greta Garbo, Jacqueline Kennedy, Gianni Agnelli, Sting, Juan Carlos, and even royalty like Princess Margaret found refuge. Not in ostentation, but in style. Here, privacy wasn’t asked — it was understood.

Discretion became a civic virtue, upheld by the locals with silent pride. And that’s what made it irresistible.

But the nights? Oh, the nights…

It all began at Pedros, the coast’s first nightclub, opened in a rustic stazzo in Liscia di Vacca. Its founder — a gypsy friend of the Aga Khan’s brother — was an icon of flamboyance, often seen in silver furs, cropped tops, and cowboy boots. He didn’t just run the scene, he was the scene.

From there, the legend spiralled: Ritual Club, carved from rock in Baja Sardinia. S’Inferru, deep beneath Porto Cervo. Pepero, Sottovento, and later Billionaire, Briatore’s infamous temple of indulgence.

But beyond the glitz was a paradox: the Costa was both sacred and scandalous, elegant and unruly — a playground for the elite and a sanctuary for the wild-hearted.

And that mix? It’s what kept the myth alive.