A man who has been living alone on an Italian island for more than 30 years is finally going to leave, after a series of clashes with the government.

Mauro Morandi, 81, posted on his Facebook page that he would be stepping down as caretaker of Budelli Island after 32 years.

“I hope that in the future Budelli will be protected as I have protected it,” he said.

Mauro Morandi has lived alone as the caretaker of an Italian island for 32 years, but will now finally leave. (Mauro Morandi/Facebook)

Budelli Island is in the Maddalena archipelago, near Sardinia, and is part of a multi-island national park.

It was privately owned until the Italian government took over in 2016, following the previous owner’s bankruptcy.

Mr Morandi has lived on the island since 1989, when he accidentally landed there after his boat ran into trouble.

Fortuitously, he arrived just as the caretakers then were looking to retire.

“I was quite fed up with a lot of things about our society: consumerism and the political situation in Italy,” Mr Morandi told the BBC in 2018.

“I wanted to start a new life close to nature.”

Tourists are forbidden from walking on the famous pink beaches of Budelli Island, near Sardinia in Italy. (Universal Images Group via Getty)

Since 1989, Mr Morandi has lived alone in a former WWII shelter on the island, guiding groups of tourists and taking care of the local ecosystem.

Visitors are banned from swimming in the ocean and from walking on Budelli’s famed pink beaches, but are still able to travel the island on an approved path.

Mr Morandi’s departure was prompted by a series of clashes with the government, who claimed he had illegally modified his home, the Guardian has reported.

Mr Morandi now plans to move to a different island in the same archipelago, one where he won’t be the only permanent inhabitant.



This content first appear on 9news

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