Mauro Morandi

Mauro Morandi (1939 – 3 January 2025) was an Italian island hermit who was the sole resident of the Italian island Budelli from 1989 to 2021. He was nicknamed "Robinson Crusoe". He became world famous and a source of inspiration for people.

Biography
Mauro Morandi was born in Modena, Italy in 1939. He worked as a physics teacher and physical education teacher until 1989. In 1989, shortly after setting off on a sailing trip to Polynesia he shipwrecked on Budelli, a tiny (1.6km²) island in the Strait of Bonifacio between Sardinia and Corsica, well-known for its pink-sanded beach. Fascinated by the beauty of the island, he decided to leave his old life behind and settle permanently on the island, taking over the role of the previous hermit-caretaker who was about to retire. He lived for 32 years alone on the island, in a house made of coral, shells and granite that he heated with a simple fireplace. He took care of the flora and fauna on the island, cleaned the beaches, and educated tourists about the island's ecosystem.

He was forced to leave the island in 2021 by the Italian authorities because he had made "some changes to his residence without a permit." A petition to let him stay on the island garnered over 7000 signatures, but the authorities' decision stood. Morandi moved to the nearby island La Maddalena, where he lived a modest life in a small apartment. He wanted to keep the beauty of the island for himself, but came to realize that sharing it could contribute to make others "aware of the value of nature." With the help of a smartphone he was given, he became a source of inspiration through social media and had over 66000 followers on Instagram.

After a fall in the summer of 2024, Morandi went to a nursing home in Sassari, and later moved to his hometown Modena. His health continued to deteriorate, and Morandi died there on 3 January 2025, at the age of 85.

References

Category:Italian people
Category:1939 births
Category:2025 deaths
Category:People from Modena