Skorpios, Aristotle Onassis‘ private island in the Ionian Sea, is to turn into an ultra-luxury VIP resort after the Greek government signed the permits for this to take place, according to greekreporter.com.
The 55-page Joint Ministerial Decision, which was signed on the last day of 2020, describes in detail all the changes to come on Skorpios.
The once near-mythical paradise and playground of the world’s elite from the 1960s to the 1980s are poised to enter a new, and perhaps more prosaic, era.
Even though the Ionian Sea island now belongs to Ekaterina Rybolovleva, daughter of Russian magnate Dmitry Rybolovlev, Greeks still call Skorpios “the island of Onassis.”
History of Skorpios
The irregularly-shaped island is next to Lefkada in the Ionian Sea. It spans 83.2 hectares (205 acres) and has two main axes of about 1,500 meters and 1,000 meters.
Skorpios, which was purchased by the Greek shipping magnate in 1963, is believed to have cost him the equivalent of about $11,000 in today’s money.
It is heavily forested from south to north and features over 200 varieties of trees imported to the once nearly-barren island by Aristotle Onassis himself. It has sandy beaches, most notably East Beach, which was created by the magnate.
In order to achieve that, sand was brought from Salamis Island for that express purpose. Onassis also built harbor facilities in the bay on the north side for his huge yacht.
All the fresh water on Skorpios comes from the side of a mountain on a nearby island.
Numerous high-profile guests stayed on the island during the time of Onassis. State leaders, politicians, actors, and artists enjoyed the host’s hospitality and the natural beauties of Skorpios. {https://www.tornosnews.gr}
From Aristotle Onassis to Ekaterina Rybolovleva
Skorpios, Aristotle Onassis‘ private island in the Ionian Sea, is to turn into an ultra luxury VIP resort, after the Greek government signed the permits for this to take place.
The 55-page Joint Ministerial Decision, which was signed on the last day of 2020, describes in detail all the changes to come on Skorpios.
The once near-mythical paradise and playground of the world’s elite from the 1960s to the 1980s, is poised to enter a new, and perhaps more prosaic, era.
Even though the Ionian Sea island now belongs to Ekaterina Rybolovleva, daughter of Russian magnate Dmitry Rybolovlev, Greeks still call Skorpios “the island of Onassis.”
History of Skorpios
The irregularly-shaped island is next to Lefkada in the Ionian Sea. It spans 83.2 hectares (205 acres) and has two main axes of about 1,500 meters and 1,000 meters.
Skorpios, which was bought by the Greek shipping magnate in 1963, is believed to have cost him the equivalent of about $11,000 in today’s money.
It is heavily forested from south to north and features over 200 varieties of trees imported to the once nearly-barren island by Aristotle Onassis himself. It has sandy beaches, most notably East Beach, which was created by the magnate.
In order to achieve that, sand was brought from Salamis Island for that express purpose. Onassis also built harbor facilities in the bay on the north side for his massive yacht.
All the fresh water on Skorpios comes from the side of a mountain on a nearby island.
Numerous high-profile guests stayed on the island during the time of Onassis. State leaders, politicians, actors, and artists enjoyed the host’s hospitality and the natural beauties of Skorpios.
Skorpios was also the place of Onassis’ wedding to former United States First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on October 20, 1968.
In 1971, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was famously photographed nude by a paparazzo while lying on a Skorpios beach.
Upon Onassis’s death, the island passed on to his daughter, Christina, and then in turn to her daughter, Athina Onassis Roussel, the only surviving heir.
Onassis, along with his son, Alexander, and his daughter, Christina, are all buried on Skorpios.
Onassis sanctuary and playground
For Onassis, Skorpios was his paradise, his sanctuary and his playground, a place to rest and relax—and throw wild VIP parties.
The tycoon was active himself in planting 200 species of trees, flowers, and making gardens and orchards where vegetables and fruit were cultivated.
Onassis also built a tavern on the beach, where he would cook fresh fish and seafood and sit at a table drinking ouzo while gazing at the blue-green waters singing his favorite songs.
Skorpios was a labor of love for the Greek tycoon. It was also the love nest of the two great loves of his life: Maria Callas and Jacqueline Kennedy.
Onassis shared the planting of the island’s vegetation with Callas. Skorpios was their private refuge, an idyllic environment to serve as a setting for their love story.
At the same time, Skorpios was famous for the legendary, lavish parties with the world’s VIPs and jet-setters—from Hollywood stars to political figures.
Most of them took place on Onassis’ luxury yacht “Christina,” named after his daughter. Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Grace Kelly, Prince Rainier of Monaco, and Winston Churchill were just a few of these luminaries.
The fun usually lasted until daylight with one famous moment being Maria Callas singing duets with Frank Sinatra.
When Jackie Kennedy replaced Callas in the heart of Onassis, she became the hostess of Skorpios.
Aristotle and Jackie exchanged wedding vows on the mythical island on October 20, 1968. While it was drizzling all day, it did not hamper the VIP guests celebrating and enjoying the glamorous wedding party.
Jackie and Aristotle Onassis
Jackie changed the overall look of the island, starting with the house, which she decorated with her personal friend and famous interior decorator Billy Baldwin.
Jackie loved the seclusion of Scorpios and liked to swim and sunbathe on its most secluded southern beach—not that she could actually escape from the paparazzi who spied on the island from sea hoping to record the couple’s private moments.
Onassis children and tragedies
Onassis’s children, Alexandros and Christina, from his first marriage with Tina Livanos, shared their father’s love for the island and the social life they enjoyed there.
They threw their own beach parties, inviting the children of the most famous families from Greece and abroad.
The island also became a favorite destination for Jackie’s son, John John, whom Onassis had taken under his wing.
However, the golden age of Skorpios came to an abrupt end on January 20, 1973. It was on that day—ironically on Aristotle Onassis’ birthday—that his beloved son was killed in a plane crash.
Alexandros’ death was a blow to Onassis which he could not overcome. The island was deserted, and the music stopped. “I have no reason to live any more,” Onassis had said at the time.
Indeed, just two years later, the man who had built a shipping empire and a prestigious airline, one of the richest men in the entire world, passed away.
However, his daughter, Christina, revived Skorpios in the 1980s. Jackie stopped going to the island and Christina, happy to get rid of the stepmother she never liked, erased every trace of her on the island.
She brought architect Costas Voutsas and painter Yiannis Tsarouchis to change the decoration of the pink villa, which once had been called “Jackie’s Villa.”
Along with the new décor, she built swimming pools and renovated the guest houses so that they could once again host the finest members of the international jet set for glamorous parties that lasted until dawn.
Onassis island
Christina married Thierry Roussel in 1984, and the couple revived Skorpios’ social life. It was different this time, though. Parties on the island became more and more frantic with rumors of orgies circulating in Greece.
On Skorpios, the new owners hosted the biggest stars. Roussel’s friend, hard-partying actor Mickey Rourke, was one of them, making tabloid headlines.
On January 29, 1985, Athina Onassis was born and was later baptized on Skorpios. Nightlife on the island calmed down after that point, as Christina and Roussel started divorce procedures eight months later.
The lights went out on Skorpios when Christina Onassis was found dead on November 19, 1988 in the bathtub of a friend’s house in Buenos Aires.
At Christmastime in 1988, a third tomb was opened next to those of Aristotle and Alexandros Onassis on Skorpios. Athina, the heiress of the Onassis fortune, returned to the island ten years later to lay flowers on her mother’s grave.
Athina visited the island a few times in the following years to visit the graves of her legendary family. Since that time, no Onassis has ever celebrated anything again on the little island paradise.
Skorpios in the Rybolovlev era
In April 2013, the trust of Ekaterina Rybolovleva, daughter of Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, bought Skorpios and adjacent islet, Sparti, along with other assets from Athina Onassis for $153 million.
The aim of the Rybolovlev family is to turn the tiny island in the Ionian into a luxury resort, catering to the international elite.
The family has already made changes on the island for private use. However, Skorpios will now be transformed to Europe’s first private island resort.
The Greek government signed the permit for the change on December 31, 2020, ushering in a new era on Skorpios.
The ministerial decision reads “Approval of the location of the investment plan called ‘Construction and operation of a luxury tourist unit VIP Exclusive Club on the island of Skorpios.’”
The project is estimated to cost 165 million euros, and all the necessary construction works are expected to be completed in three and a half years. It has been called one of the first strategic investments in Greece.
According to the ministerial decision, the project is divided into nine construction units in an area of 430,947.10 square meters (463,675.98 square feet).
New buildings will be constructed along with the preservation of existing ones, such as Christina Onassis’ “Pink Villa.”
The Pink Villa will be renovated completely and will be used as an accommodation unit. In addition, a 9,420 square meter (291,129,921 square foot) main hotel building complex will be constructed.
The complex will include the main residence, or Master Suite; two large villas, called VIP1 and VIP2; and medium-sized villas, referred to as VIP3 and VIP4, and Guest Pavilions 1 and 2.
The main complex also includes areas that serve functions of the guest facilities, such as a conference center, restaurant, wellness center, screening room, and entertainment area.
The second building complex will include four independent villas, called VIP5, VIP6, VIP7 and VIP8 with all the necessary auxiliary features.
The third multipurpose complex will house sports facilities; in the fourth, there will be facilities for swimmers and sunbathers, such as locker rooms, a swimming pool, and an auxiliary pier.
Other facilities and buildings include a helipad, a lounge in the fifth building complex, and a sixth building complex to accommodate staff.
There is a seventh unit that is designed to accommodate horses and a special area for hosting small pets. The existing equestrian arena can also serve visitors with horse-riding training facilities.
Building unit 8 includes the “Hill House,” a new building with an outdoor pool of 75 square meters (18,455 square feet), and in building section 9, there is the “Amphitheater,” a natural, outdoor theater-like space for visitors to enjoy.
Finally, Skorpios’ harbor will be expanded significantly and modernized to accommodate more vessels.
The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2024, giving a new and much different life to the once-private sanctuary of Aristotle Onassis. {https://greekreporter.com}
