An Italian man that has lived on the island for over 30 years will be relocated after being pressured by authorities. Way back in 1989, Mauro Morandi, 81, relocated to Budelli off northern Sardinia.
Mr Morandi said last year that the people who own the island, which is well-known for its pink beach, wanted him to leave. On Sunday, he wrote on Facebook saying: "I will leave with the hope that in time to come Budelli will be protected as I have protected it for 32 years."
In a conversation with BBC Outlook in 2018, the previous physical education teacher said he had "been a bit of a rebel every time." Mr Morandi said he was quite fed up with so many things about our society: consumerism and the political situation in Italy. And he decided to relocate to a desert island in Polynesia, far away from all civilization. He said he wanted to begin a new life that is close to nature.
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Eviction Threats Morandi Encountered
After starting their journey by sea, he and some friends arrived on the Italian archipelago of La Maddalena, where they plan on working and making money to fund the rest of their journeys. But after landing on Budelli and encountering the guardian of the island, who was close to retiring, Mr Morandi decided not to leave - and has stayed there ever since, taking care of the island and communicating with tourists.
However, over the years he has encountered a number of eviction threats. Fabrizio Fonnesu, the president of La Maddalena's National Park, in 2020, told CNN that Mr Morandi had carried out illegal changes to his hut, which is a previous radio station dating back to World War Two.
A petition calling on the Italian government to let him stay generated over 70,000 signatures. But on Sunday, Mr Morandi discloses his decision to move, letting The Guardian newspaper know that he would relocate to a small flat close to the island of La Maddalena: "My life won't be too different, I'll still see the sea."
Budelli
Budelli is an island located in The Maddalena Archipelago National Park, in the north of Sardinia close to the Bocche di Bonifacio. It is part - with Santo Stefano, Caprera, La Maddalena, Spargi, Santa Maria, Razzoli, and also other smaller ones like the Cardellino, the islets of Rome, and of Cala Lunga, 62, in the middle of islands and islets, for a sum of 180 km of coasts - of the Arcipelago di La Maddalena National Park.
its beautiful Pink Beach (Spiaggia Rosa), in Cala di Roto, south-east of the island is very famous. It owes its name to the feature coral pink colour of the sand of the shoreline. The uniqueness of its colouring is because of a pink micro-organism, Miniacina miniacea, whose shells are removed by the wind action and water.
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