The greater part of Arzachena’s coast was purchased in the early sixties by a group of Italian and foreign enterprises who constituted the Costa Smeralda Syndacate. The name Costa Smeralda was inspired by the wonderful colour of sea waters washing these lonely beaches.

It was a successful idea because of the seriousness and importance of such an enterprise, because of the architectural care of settlements planned by the world’s best professionls and even because of the tendncy shown to protect the wonderful nature of places in the best way. Thus several wonderful villas where erected in a mixture of styles (Provencal, Moorish, Mediterranean and of course Sardinian) that surround the most important beaches of the district, namely Liscia di Vacca, Pitrizza, Cala Granu, Cala Romantica, Pevero, Romazzino, Capriccioli, Cala di Volpe and last but not least Porto Cervo in whose bay (branched like a deer’s horn: in Italian cervo means deer) has been made the most important and best equipped tourist harbour in the Mediterranean Sea (divided in the Old Harbour and the Seashore of Porto Cervo Harbour with 600 berths) surrounded by wonderful houses wich open on to the romantique small square along the sea with its appearance of a medieval village “remade” in modern form.

Porto Cervo is the seat of important sailing boat races like the Maxiyacht World Championship, the Rolex Regatta, The Perini Regatta, the Swan World Cup, etc..

The modern headquarters of the Costa Smeralda Yacht Club, rises just on the Porto Cervo Seashore where you must take a walk if you want to admire Mediterranean’s largest and finest sailing and motor boats. In the southern part of coastline not far from Capriccioli it is possible to go to a fantastic set of beaches immersed in a wild and lonely nature: Liscia Ruia, Monte dell’Isola, Petra Ruia and the various seashores of Cala Razza di Giunco. This part of coastline can also admired from on high by going through the scenic road from Abbiadori (near Cala di Volpe) to Portisco (near Porto Rotondo).