A Venetian Private Island With Ties To The Swarovski Family Is For Sale

It’s always fun when a private island comes to the market. Even more fun, when the private island in question is located just off Venice – and was once home to a Swarovski billionaire. Discover Isola Santa Cristina. 

Isola Santa Cristina Is For Sale

Formerly owned by an heir to the Swarovski crystal fortune, the 72-acre Isola Santa Cristina is set to hit the market for the first time in 40 years for the cool price of €24 million. The heir in question was the late Gernot Langes-Swarovski (who died in 2021, aged 77), the great-grandson of Swarovski founder, Daniel Swarovski. In addition to being involved in the family business, Gernot Langes-Swarovski co-founded business jet operator Tyrolean Jet Services – and was said to have a networth of $1.3 billion in 2014. 

Drawn to the area’s fishing culture, Langes-Swarovski acquired the island in 1986. Said to have been an advocate for sustainability throughout his life (in spite of, or potentially to make up for, his jet business) he maintained Santa Cristina’s natural ecosystems and redeveloped the island’s historic fish farming industry alongside Venice’s Ca’ Foscari University. 

‘Gernot Langes-Swarovski’s passion for agriculture, heritage and ecology made his stewardship of Isola Santa Cristina extremely personal, forging relationships with local centers of excellence, such as Ca’ Foscari University, who shared his passion and view,’ says Dr. Christoph Völk, chair of the trustees of SEGNAL Privatstiftung, the private family trust selling the island.

After his death, ownership of the island was transferred into a family trust and is currently operated by his stepson René Deutsch and his wife, Sandra. Taking inspiration from Lagnes-Swarovski, they have continued to invest in the island in-line with his eco-friendly ideals – most recently planning the installation of a new €2 million-plus technology centre to support the technical services, water management and agricultural equipment. With the goal of one day making the island fully self-sustained, they hope that the new owner will share this vision. ‘The time is now right for stewardship of Isola Santa Cristina to pass to a new custodian,’ says Völk said, ‘who appreciates the uniqueness of the location and whose passion for ecology and the lagoon will ensure its future.’

The History

Founded in the fifth century as a part of a group of garden islands known as Ammiana, this archipelago was once home to an array of churches, monasteries and convents. Santa Cristina (known as ‘Orti de Ammiana’, the orchard of Ammiana) contained the monasteries of San Marco of Santa Cristina, Santi Apostoli Filippo e Giacomo and Sant’ Angelo – a legacy seen by the ancient chapel which still sits on the island today. 

Suffering environmental degradation, depopulation and ultimately submersion, most of the archipelago was abandoned by the fifteenth century. And beyond Santa Cristina – the largest surviving island – only a few small plots of land remain. Today, the nearest functioning island to Santa Cristina is Burano island, renowned for its colourful building and handmade lace, with Mazzorbo (beloved for its vineyards and food) and Torcello (home to an ancient basilica and Byzantine mosaics) also sat nearby – all of which can be viewed from the poolside, as can the Dolomite mountains. 

The Island Today

Santa Cristina is located to the north of the Venetian Lagoon, just a 20-minute boat ride from Venice proper. Alongside its eco-credentials, the current owners run the island as a retreat with ‘a limited number of bookings per year’, hosting everything from weddings and yoga retreats to artistic residences and luxury holidays. And if guests get thirsty, the on-site vineyard produces Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot for guests, with wines occasionally sold onto top local restaurants. There is also a 30-hectare orchard, with apricot, plum and fig trees, an on-island fresh water source, organic produce, a beehive for the production of saltmarsh honey, and a family of wild peacocks.

As for where their guests stay, Santa Cristina comes with its very own nine-bedroom villa. Spanning 9,250 sqft and arranged across four floors, the historic property boasts nine bathrooms, two reception rooms, a formal dining room, a Venetian-style chef’s kitchen, and of course, a crystal chandelier. For further accommodation, there is a 6,080 sqft farmhouse across the pond with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living room and yoga studios, plus an additional self-contained two-bedroom apartment. Outside, the island offers up a veranda with a large dining space, an open-fire rotisserie and grill, an altana (AKA a traditional Venetian roof terrace) and a heated saltwater pool. A path from the villa leads down to a dock and boat house, where there’s mooring for up to five boats. 

On the market for €24 million. Find out more at italy-sothebysrealty.com