Why is it called Costa Smeralda?

Why is it called the Costa Smeralda?

The industrialist Kerry Mentasti and his daughter Esmeralda

Why is it called the Costa Smeralda? Yes, the name Costa Smeralda perfectly captures the essence of this extraordinary region.

Its crystal-clear waters and shimmering cliffs blend harmoniously with lush vegetation. The endlessly blue sky.

Sunlight, filtered through transparent waters, creates a reflection that gives the sea a unique emerald color found nowhere else in the world.

This natural spectacle of untouched beauty has inspired generations of travelers and has made the Costa Smeralda an icon of luxury and refinement. But its name also has another, less obvious origin—one that sparks curiosity.

Let’s discover it together…

The remote, wild charm of the Gallura region fascinated several tycoons as early as the 1950s, such as Giuseppe Mentasti, then known as the owner of San Pellegrino mineral water, who in 1954 purchased the deserted island of Mortorio. Guided by Prince Karim Aga Khan and with the invaluable help of architect Luigi Vietti, Mentasti took part in the creation of the Costa Smeralda project.

His daughter was named Esmeralda, and in her book Principessa, she recounts a rather unusual conversation between the architect and her father:

“When the discussion began on what to name the coastline where the Aga Khan and his partners planned to invest, my father suggested to Vietti that it be named after me: Costa Esmeralda. Vietti thought about it for a while. Then he told my father that Esmeralda didn’t sound quite right, that it sounded a bit too Spanish. In the end, he decided to remove the initial ‘E’, and so it became Costa Smeralda.” 

And what about you? What name would you have chosen for the most famous stretch of Northern Sardinia?

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