Some applaud, while others, perhaps, turn up their noses. Arzachena's mayor, Roberto Ragnedda, made this point bluntly a few days ago at the inauguration of the Christmas events in Porto Cervo. "Some people today might not even be happy that all this beauty is here," he said, speaking after Smeralda Holding CEO Mario Ferraro.
Indeed, seeing Porto Cervo bustling with life, festively lit and bustling with families and children breaks with the established image of a village that symbolizes summer luxury, traditionally silent during the colder months, with lights off and shutters down. Yet, for the municipal administration, the path it has taken is clear. The Christmas events aim to represent a reversal of this trend and become a symbol of a region that strives to live year-round.
At the heart of this journey is the relationship between the Municipality of Arzachena and the Costa Smeralda Consortium, a collaboration that has not been without its challenges over the years, the mayor noted, but which today is being hailed as strengthened and more informed. "It hasn't all been easy," Ragnedda stated, "but today we care about our territory and the people who love us," without closing the door even to those who view this new direction with skepticism.
The mayor, in office since 2017, emphasized how such a situation was hard to imagine just a few years ago. What emerged from his remarks were the concepts of pride and unity: Arzachena as a city-territory, without divisions, built by people of diverse origins but united by a concern for the future of the destination. This sentiment was made concrete by the participation of families and children, who had already been protagonists in previous events in Piazza Risorgimento, in the town's historic center.