The recent passing of Prince Karim Aga Khan has deeply resonated within the luxury maritime and hotel industry, echoing the end of an illustrious era. The news reached me in a room of a prestigious hotel, once a part of the Compagnia Italiana Grandi Alberghi (CIGA), an iconic Italian hotel chain acquired by the Ismaili prince after the financial downfall of Genoese Orazio Bagnasco in the mid-1980s.
The prince's death rekindled memories of his charismatic personality and a life of visionary accomplishments. Unknown to many, Aga Khan also had roots in Turin, Italy. His grandfather had married Teresa Magliano, a stunningly beautiful dancer from Turin who graced the stage of the Opéra de Monte Carlo in the early 20th century. Their union, though briefly ended by Teresa’s early demise, bore a son, Ali Khan, in Turin, who would later become Karim Aga Khan IV’s father.
In the 1960s, Aga Khan's entrepreneurial spirit led him to purchase a stretch of the Gallura coast in Sardinia, Italy. There, he brilliantly created Costa Smeralda, now one of the world’s most renowned tourist complexes. Porto Cervo, at the heart of Costa Smeralda, is home to the prestigious Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, standing as a testament to his passion for the sea.
His maritime enthusiasm also led to the creation of the Destriero, a vessel built by Fincantieri in the early 1990s. This yacht was designed to conquer the Blue Riband, a prestigious accolade for the fastest transatlantic crossing, which it achieved on August 9, 1992, setting a record that still stands.
On August 3, 2022, I had the privilege of organizing the 30th anniversary of the Destriero at the Muggiano shipyard near La Spezia, where it was built. Sadly, after over twenty-five years of neglect in the Lürssen shipyards in Germany, our plans to revitalize Destriero and return it to Italy were cut short. Despite a promising agreement with Aga Khan to donate the ship to the Destriero Excellere Foundation I established, the project required the support of Fincantieri. We had hoped General Claudio Graziano, president of the company, would back this venture. However, his untimely death in June 2024, marked by a tragic suicide, shattered these hopes and led to the eventual scrapping of the Destriero, erasing a significant piece of Italian maritime and industrial history.
With Prince Aga Khan's departure, his legacy as a spiritual leader, an enlightened entrepreneur, and a philanthropist shines even brighter. His life was marked by extraordinary insights and significant international figures. Above all, he was a man who turned dreams into reality, created beauty and wealth, and never forgot those less fortunate. For those of us passionate about the sea, Prince Aga Khan and his legendary Destriero will forever be remembered as maritime legends.
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