Spoiled by nearly 8,000 kilometers of shimmering coastline, Italians know a thing or two about beaches. Yet when summer beckons, it is not to the rocky coves of the Amalfi coast or to the endless sandy shores of the Adriatic that they retreat to. Instead, in a flurry of pink polos and nautical shorts, the smart set hop on a ferry toward an island bathed in golden light: Sardinia.

The draw of Sicily's more rustic sister is deceptively simple: sun-baked hills, crescent-shaped beaches nestled at the end of dirt roads and the clearest water this side of the Caribbean. No wonder the Aga Khan fell in love. The billionaire Muslim prince took one look at the island 50 years ago and decided then and there to carve out a corner of paradise. Unfortunately, today, come June, tacky soccer players and gold-digging TV starlets and rich playboys mostly haunt the 55-kilometer stretch of coast, known as Costa Smeralda, that the Aga Khan once thought of as his exclusive retreat.