Italy

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9 AUGUST 2005
Princess Caroline and her husband Prince Ernst were accompanied on their summer break by daughter Princess Alexandra, while the toddler's older sister Charlotte, was also on board, cosying up to boyfriend Felix.

The family also took time out to explore the island of Ponza, known as "the Pearl of the Mediterranean", for an afternoon. And they weren't the only aristocratic family to be spotted wandering its cobbled streets. Emmanuel Filiberto of Savoy and his French actress wife Clotilde Courau were also taking a break on the picturesque isle.

While the Italian islands were playing host to European high society, the mainland was getting a heady dose of "gypsy passion". Spain’s charismatic flamenco dancer Joaquin Cortes was among the members of the jet-set who headed for the Tuscan resort of Forte dei Marmi this summer.

For centuries a favoured getaway among the upper echelons of Italy’s social scene, the chic seaside village 65 kilometres northwest of Florence is also famously expensive.