Italian hermit Mauro Morandi who lived alone on Mediterranean island for over 3 decades dies at 85 — 3 years after returning to society
A man dubbed “Italy’s Robinson Crusoe” for living alone on a tiny Mediterranean island for over three decades died on Jan. 3 — three years after he returned to civilization.
Mauro Morandi, 85, spent 32 years on Budelli Island in an old World War II shelter on a 0.62-square-mile slab of land located west of Italy’s mainland in the Mediterranean Sea.
Antonio Rinaldis, an author who co-wrote a book about Morandi’s life on the isolated island, claimed that the elder died of a brain hemorrhage, the New York Times reported.
Morandi, whose nickname is based on the titular novel’s character who lived on a Caribbean island, shipwrecked his catamaran on Budelli Island in 1989.
The Italian-born introvert was attempting to sail to Polynesia to escape society and consumerism altogether, according to The Guardian.
The crash halted his plans to live alone in Polynesia however it allowed him to set sail for a new journey: the sole caretaker of Budelli Island.
The previous caretaker was retiring when Morandi arrived so the sailor quickly swooped in and took the job.
Over the years, he made a makeshift solar power system and even had his own fireplace to keep him warm during winter when temperatures on the island would dip to as low as 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Morandi stayed on the island for over three decades as he cleaned the beaches and shared information about his paradise when visitors would drop by for a few hours.
But the Italian-born caretaker’s dream of lifelong isolation didn’t last as long as he may have hoped.
In 2021, Italian authorities evicted Morandi, who was 81 years old, when the private company that owned the island went bankrupt.
National Park officials wanted to convert the island into a center for environmental education as opposed to letting Morandi stay in his sanctuary of seclusion.
“I have given up the fight,” Morandi revealed to The Guardian during a 2021 interview. “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.”
Italian authorities gave him a one-bedroom apartment in the island town La Maddalena and he began to write memoirs.
“For a long time I have lived alone, and for too many years after I first landed on Budelli I didn’t feel like talking to anyone,” Morandi told CNN in 2021.
“True, I cannot enjoy the island’s solitude anymore but my life now has taken a new turn, focused on communicating with others and being near other people.”
According to the Italian outlet Giornale della Vela, the former physical education teacher experienced various health problems including an injured vertebrae stemming from a fall.
The longtime hermit moved to an assisted living center in his hometown of Modena in mainland Italy and remained there until his death.
Loved ones are planning to scatter Morandi’s ashes at sea.
