'Italys Robinson Crusoe' forced to leave island of Budelli

Publish date: 2024-07-14

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An 81-year-old man dubbed “Italy’s Robinson Crusoe,” who has lived alone for over 30 years on a tiny Mediterranean island, says he will finally move after fighting eviction for years.

Mauro Morandi ended up on Budelli, an island in the Maddalena archipelago north of Sardinia, in 1989 when his catamaran broke down en route to the Pacific, the Guardian reported.

When he found out that Budelli’s caretaker planned to retire, he abandoned his journey, sold his boat and assumed the role — living in a former World War II shelter on the 0.62-square-mile slab of land.

But after three decades and several threats of eviction from La Maddalena national park authorities, who want to turn the island into a center for environmental education, Morandi said he is ready to pack up and leave.

“I have given up the fight. After 32 years here, I feel very sad to leave. They told me they need to do work on my house and this time it seems to be for real,” he said, according to the Guardian.

Budelli is an island off Sardinia known for its pink-sand beach. Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Morandi, originally from Modena in central Italy, said he will move into an apartment on nearby La Maddalena, the largest island of the archipelago.

“I’ll be living in the outskirts of the main town, so will just go there for shopping and the rest of the time keep myself to myself. My life won’t change too much, I’ll still see the sea,” he said.

Budelli’s caretaker was retiring and Mauro Morandi decided to stay and take over the job. Facebook

Morandi had guarded the island without trouble for years, clearing its paths, keeping its beaches clean and teaching visitors about its ecosystem.

But his troubles began when the private company that owned the island went bankrupt.

Mauro Morandi lives in a former WWII shelter overlooking a bay. Facebook

Plans to sell it in 2013 to Michael Harte, a New Zealand businessman who wanted to keep Morandi on as caretaker, failed amid protests and an intervention by the Italian government.

In 2016, a judge ordered that the island be put back under the control of park authorities, who have banned tourists from walking on the pink beach.

The La Maddalena national park authorities want to turn the island into a center for environmental education. Facebook

Park authorities have also argued that Morandi made changes to the caretaker building without obtaining the required permit.

But the octogenarian’s supporters expressed their disappointment over his imminent departure.

“After 32 years here, I feel very sad to leave,” Mauro Morandi says about his eviction. Facebook

“There are no words … the destruction of the paradise will begin,”  Carmelia Mangano wrote on his Facebook page.

Mirella Della Vecchia wrote: “I can’t imagine Budelli without Mauro’s protection … you must resist!”

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