Photo: MAURO MORANDI / Courtesy
They call him the Robinson Crusoe of Italy and his stay on his desert island will soon come to an end.
Mauro Morandi, from 81 years , moved to Budelli, north of Sardinia, in 1989, and stayed more than 30 years as only inhabitant of the paradise island.
There he lived peacefully until last year when the owners of Budelli, part of the La Maddalena archipelago and famous for its spiaggia rosa (pink beach), they informed you that wanted me to leave her , according to the man.
I will go with the hope that in the future Budelli will be protected as I protected her during 30 years ”, he wrote on Facebook this past Sunday.
What led you there?
The former physical education teacher from Modena had always been “a bit rebellious,” according to what he told the Outlook program from the BBC at 2018.
“I was quite tired of many of the things in our society: consumerism and the political situation in Italy “, he explained.
” I decided to move to a desert island in Polynesia, far from all civilization. I wanted to start a new life close to nature, ”he said.
Morandi and several friends who shared his ideas bought an old catamaran and remodeled it, but they had no money enough to start their desired path.
Therefore, they went to the archipelago of La Maddalena, where they planned to work and earn some money to finance their adventure, he explained .
But when sailing near the beautiful island of Budelli, they decided to stop to visit it and there they met its guardian, who was going to retire in two days.
“Do you think I could take your place?” Morandi said excitedly, as he told Outlook.
There he stayed since then, protecting the island and chatting with tourists that arrive in summer.
“I found my own Polynesia at the doors of my house,” he pointed out.
Budelli was accessible until the year 1994, but then it became a national park and currently only a small number of tourists can go for the day, Morandi explained on the BBC program.
In the past, visitors took part of the pink sand that characterizes the place intentionally or inadvertently, complained Morandi, who has tried over the years to educate tourists about the precious ecosystem of Budelli.
The pink beach It is currently a protected place.
Eviction threats
Morandi has faced various eviction threats in recent years.
In 2020, the president of La Maddalena National Park, Fabrizio Fonnesu, told the US network CNN that Morandi had carried out altera Illegal views of his cabin, a former WWII radio headquarters.
Attempts to kick him out were answered on Change.org with a citizen petition to the Italian government to let him stay, which raised more than 70. 000 firms.
However, last Sunday, Morandi announced his decision to leave after pressure from the authorities.
In statements to the newspaper The Guardian , the former professor explained that he would move to a small apartment on a nearby island of La Maddalena: “My life will not change too much, I will continue to see or the sea. ”
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