‘Now it’s continuous noise’: Italy’s Crusoe adjusts to life off his island

Every morning, Mauro Morandi woke up to the uninterrupted sea view that only he was privy to.

Immersed in nature, he was intimately in tune with the dawn sounds and habits of the wildlife that surrounded his home, a former second world war shelter on Budelli, the Mediterranean island where he had lived alone for more than 30 years.

Now the 82-year-old is adjusting to life in a one-bedroom apartment next to a shop with a Sky TV sign outside, surrounded by neighbours and with only a glimpse of the ocean in between the gaps separating the buildings opposite on nearby La Maddalena, the largest of an archipelago of seven islands off the north coast of Sardinia, Italy.

Speaking from his new home, Morandi said: “I became so used to the silence. Now it’s continuous noise … music, motor scooters, people … it distracts you so much you don’t have time to think.”

More than three months have passed since Morandi, a former PE teacher from the northern Italian city of Modena, was forced to leave Budelli, where he had come to know every rock, tree and animal species on the rugged islet.

He had expected the public’s fascination in his life to wane after his departure; instead, it has grown more fervent.

Fans from around the world continue to send him messages.

Journalists still call him for quotes, or in anticipation of writing a book or making a film.

For the next two decades he guarded Budelli without trouble, clearing its paths, keeping its beaches pristine and teaching summer day-trippers about its ecosystem.

Tourists have been banned from walking on the island’s pink beach, from where sand was often pilfered, and swimming in the sea since the 1990s, but can visit during the day via boat and are permitted to walk along a path behind the beach.

They were often surprised to come across the sole inhabitant, although word soon got around, earning Morandi the nickname Robinson Crusoe after the castaway in Daniel Defoe’s novel.

Food was delivered to him by boat from La Maddalena, and a homemade solar system powered his lights, fridge and internet connection. During winter, when there are no visitors, he spent his days collecting firewood, reading and sleeping.

Ref: ‘Now it’s continuous noise’: Italy’s Crusoe adjusts to life off his island (theguardian)