Nicknamed “Robinson Crusoe” by the Italian press, Mauro Morandi was stranded on a secret island in Sardinia in 1989. He died at the age of 85.
His odyssey will surely never have the posterity of that of Robinson Crusoe, but his name is associated with the famous novel character. Mauro Morandi died this weekend at the age of 85, in northern Italy where he was from.
In the late 1980s, he washed up on Budelli, an island off the coast of Sardinia with pink sand beaches, due to a mixture of granite coral and shells. His catamaran was wrecked there when he intended to go much further, to Polynesia.
On this Italian island, he stays there long enough to repair his boat. But Mauro Morandi learns that the caretaker is retiring. This news upsets the plans of the Italian who decides to stay on site and invests in an old shelter from the Second World War.
He is expelled from the island in 2021
The mission he has held for about 30 years is to ensure that the island is not overrun by tourists. Budelli Island has been closed to the public since the 1990s in order to preserve the pink color of its sand. Last June, an influencer received a fine of 1,800 euros for going to the beach on the island of Budelli.
In winter, Mauro Morandi occupied his time collecting firewood and reading. To feed himself, the guardian of the island had food delivered by boat. And regarding electricity, the Italian “Robinson Crusoe” was equipped with a solar energy system.
His history with the island ends in 2021 when he is deported there. The reason? The authorities of La Maddalena National Park wanted to transform the premises into an environmental education center. A real upheaval for the octogenarian.
“I got so used to the silence. Now it’s continuous noise,” Mauro Morandi told the Guardian in 2021.
On social networks, the Italian “Robinson Crusoe” was followed by more than 70,000 people. Many tributes were paid to him there.
