On a recent golden evening, I settled onto Bollinger Terrace, the breezy outdoor perch at 7Pines Resort Sardinia, a flute of equally radiant bubbly in hand, as the sun slipped into the wind swept, granite slopes lining the Mediterranean in Baja Sardinia, Italy. Just a short drive from the decadent glamour of Porto Cervo, that perennial favorite of the Costa Smeralda’s superyacht set, I was struck by just how different this untamed stretch of Gallura feels—the mood distinctly more Montauk than Southampton. Rather than being on display, the focus here is on immersion in the landscape (or, better still, in the secluded coves of turquoise water tucked below the resort).
With just 75 rooms and suites spread out over nearly 40 acres, 7Pines feels refreshingly uncrowded even at high occupancy. Yet the luxury is unmistakably evident, from the spa and polished service to a spectacular dinner by Chef Pasquale D’Ambrosio at the newly Michelin-starred Capogiro.
Just in time for summer, Delta’s new nonstop service between New York and Olbia has made Sardinia — Italy’s second-largest island — more accessible for East Coasters seeking either a mid-season Hamptons escape or a post-Labor Day vacation extension. But Sardinia is only one piece of the puzzle. Wondering the Italian equivalent of your favorite East End enclave? Grazia Gazette maps Hamptons-to-Italy parallels, revealing where to find your own ideal dose of dolce far niente on the other side of the Atlantic.
Read GRAZIA USA’s Hamptons Gazette
Southampton to Forte dei Marmi
If Southampton is where the establishment summers, then the highly discreet seaside getaway Forte dei Marmi, on Tuscany’s Versilia coast, is where Italy’s stealth wealth retreats each August. Long favored by fashion dynasties such as Ferragamo and Versace, as well as Milanese industrial families and old-money Roman clans, the town embodies glamour, but at its most understated.
Multigenerational regulars socialize at private beach clubs, while linen-clad cognoscenti settle into poolside aperitivi at the newly reopened 59-key Hermitage Hotel & Resort, a member of Starhotels Collezione. Evenings are defined by leisurely dinners at Orto all’Hermitage, followed by one of Forte’s most cherished rituals — an unhurried bicycle ride or passeggiata through town.
Amagansett to San Felice Circeo
The Atlantic is a constant presence in Amagansett, long a summer escape for New Yorkers. Romans in the know, meanwhile, flee the tourist-clogged capital and head 90 minutes south to San Felice Circeo on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
A cliffside lighthouse watches over wide, soft-gold beaches that rarely feel crowded, even at peak summer. Circeo’s expansiveness is thanks to its position on the edge of Circeo National Park, where protected dunes, cliffs, and Mediterranean forest preserve long stretches of unspoiled Lazio coastline.
East Hampton to Venice
East Hampton is a cultural anchor of the East End and a curated luxury destination that retains an intimate village scale while catering to a global clientele. Venice achieves a comparable duality: a living museum defined by centuries-old artisan traditions, historic families, and grand palazzi, interwoven with a dynamic contemporary arts scene.
Along the Riva degli Schiavoni, just steps from Prada and Gucci, sits the recently renovated Hotel Gabrielli, a 14th-century palazzo in the Castello neighborhood that encapsulates the city’s layered identity. It was here, in the early 1900s, that Franz Kafka is said to have passed through Venice, recording his impressions in letters to his fiancée, Felice Bauer. Today, the Perkhofer family continues to uphold the hotel’s place among the grand dames of the floating city, with restored and preserved details including hand-painted coffered ceilings and original Murano chandeliers set alongside Istrian stone columns. Views from its suites and rooftop terrace stretch across the lagoon toward San Giorgio Maggiore, giving guests the sense of being suspended between city and sea.
Bridgehampton to Ostuni
If Bridgehampton were transported to Italy, it would most likely feel right at home swapping spots with Ostuni in Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot. The ancient hilltop town — often called La Città Bianca, or the White City, for its whitewashed buildings — is just five miles from the Adriatic Sea, so it feels removed from the coast even as it overlooks it.
The surrounding landscape comes alive in summer, with sun-bleached fields of grain and vast olive groves stretching toward the horizon. Farm estates and boutique resorts hum quietly in the warmer months, as Italians and international visitors are drawn to a slower rhythm at intimate hotels such as Vista Ostuni, a 700-year-old palazzo featuring indoor and outdoor pools, a rooftop terrace with sweeping sea views, and Mediterranean gardens designed by Belgian landscape architect Erik Dhont.
Sag Harbor to Bellagio
Sag Harbor is sophisticated yet relaxed, a balance that perhaps owes to its pride of place on the waterfront. Bellagio, set on boat-filled Lake Como, similarly draws its identity from the lake’s deep blue expanse within the Lombard Prealps.
Day-trippers drift through its bustling café scene and maze of winding streets, while jet-setters retreat to the village’s only five-star hotel, the opulent Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, to soak up the sun by the property’s cerulean lakeside pool or at the private Baci da Bellagio beach club. The evenings revolve around piano music and drinks in the grand salon before dinner at La Goletta, the relaxed lakeside eatery, or the more formal Mistral Restaurant. There, Chef Ettore Bocchia presents a refined seven-course tasting menu that includes tortellini filled with peacock and fava bean purée, and turbot with leek foam and caviar.
Read GRAZIA USA’s Hamptons Gazette
