Europe | Swish in Sardinia

On Italy’s Costa Smeralda, the megayachts are back

But their owners are nowhere to be seen

|PORTO CERVO

FRANCO BLOISI is puzzled. Mr Bloisi is the chef of Assunta Madre, a restaurant attached to Billionaire, a nightclub on the Costa Smeralda. With its turquoise waters and hidden coves, this region of north-eastern Sardinia has long been a summer playground for Arab potentates, Russian plutocrats and Silicon Valley tech czars. “We’ve got the stylish Italians this year,” says Mr Bloisi. But he has seen no trace of the super-rich foreigners. “Their yachts are here. But they’re not going out.”

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The megayachts are back”

China’s attack on tech

From the August 14th 2021 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Discover more

Marine Le Pen (L) arrives at the Paris criminal courthouse for her trial on suspicion of embezzlement of European public funds

Marine Le Pen spooks the bond markets

She threatens to bring down the French government, but also faces a possible ban from politics

Donald Trump shakes hands with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte as they meet in Palm Beach, Florida, United States, November 22nd 2024

The maths of Europe’s military black hole 

It needs to spend to defend, but voters may balk


Ukraine’s warriors brace for a Kremlin surge in the south 

Vladimir Putin’s war machine is pushing harder and crushing Ukrainian morale


Vladimir Putin fires a new missile to amplify his nuclear threats

The attack on Ukraine is part of a new era of missile warfare

Once dominant, Germany is now desperate

As an election looms its business model is breaking down