JEWEL ON THE EMERALD COAST

The interior designer Mariangela Leone Jamal and her husband Ali spend summers with their twins at an idyllic Sardinian villa they have lovingly restored

-  NANÁ BOTTAZZI

This house is my heart's home, where I spent the best summers of my youth,” Mariangela Leone Jamal tells us at her stunning Sardinian villa. Her memories of those days are both extra precious and bittersweet, because she has since lost both her parents.

Happily, Mariangela's life - and that of the house - have now come full circle and she is once more creating joyful family memories here, this time with her husband Ali Jamal and their twin sons Jassim and Alexander.

Built in 1968, this is a place made for carefree holidays. Crowned with terraces and scattered with swimming pools, the property flows down a hillside on multiple levels, connected by stone paths that pass through flower-filled gardens. Every turn brings breathtaking vistas of the Emerald Coast resort of Porto Cervo sparkling below.

So it’s not surprising that Ali – with whose help Mariangela has carried out a complete renovation – now cherishes this spot as much as she does. “This is where I truly reconnect with my family and friends. The view relaxes me so much; it’s my sanctuary,” he confides.

Mariangela, tell us about your background.

“I’m Italian and my roots are right here in Sardinia. This was my grandparents’ house. My grandfather was involved in the development of the Emerald Coast as a business partner of the late Prince Karim Aga Khan.

“I grew up in Milan and, after studying in the US, I went on to found an interior design studio there.”