The fortunes of the Ramblas pizzeria on the seafront of the Sardinian port of Alghero perfectly illustrate the revolution taking place in the local property market. “Five years ago we had hardly any foreign customers,” says Laura, a waitress. “Now, apart from August, when Italians are in the majority, 70 per cent of diners in the summer months are from the British Isles, Germany or Scandinavia.”

Situated in the north-west of Sardinia, Alghero used to be difficult to reach from northern Europe. But it is not any more. Nineteen airlines – most of them low-cost – now bring passengers into the nearby Fertilia airport from mainland Italy and the rest of the continent. Though the European Commission recently launched a formal investigation into support allegedly given by the Sardinian region and the publicly owned airport operator to various airlines operating there, the number of foreign visitors continues to skyrocket. They’re expected to account for 60 per cent of the total this year, compared with 20 per cent in 1999.