Budelli island is famous for only having one sole inhabitant, Mauro Morandi. He had lived on the island alone for 28 years, from 1989 until he was evicted in 2021. He was a man enamored by the peacefulness of the island and its beauty and has been the pivotal person in keeping the integrity of the island's history alive. The park's president on the island had said it was difficult to find a contractual arrangement for him to be on the island and was removed peacefully.
Budelli Island, also simply called Budelli, is an island that is located near the strait of Bonifacio. It is situated in the Maddalena archipelago and is considered one of the seven islands which make up the Acripeago di la Maddalena national park. The island is extremely small, with a surface area of 1.6 square kilometers and a circumference of about 12km. Monte Budello is the highest point, at 285 ft.
The ancient Romans, during the period of the empire, used the island. It is well known for its Pink Beach, which is located on the southeastern shoreline. It is pink due to the microscopic fragments of shells and coral that make up part of the flora and fauna in the area. Budelli is one of the four uninhabited islands in the archipelago, with the others being Rizzoli, sparge, and career. Mauro Morandi had taken control of the island from a married couple who had previously owned the island under a private contract. Since the 1990s, the Italian government has not allowed tourists near the pink beach to swim - as they take souvenirs from the shore which destroys the natural splendor of the Pink Beach. Day trips by boat and the paths behind the beach are permitted.
Most recently, the island was to be sold in 2013 to a New Zealand businessman by the name of Michael Harte. Harte wanted to protect the ecosystem of the island. After three years of back and forth between the local government and Mr. Harte, a judge in Sardinia had reverted the island into a state. The national park association took over and uses it for environmental education. It was at this time that the process of eviction for Mauro Morandi occurred.
Il Deserto Rosso, the Red Desert was filmed in 1964 on this island. It is a drama film that follows a troubled woman who lives in a growing industrialized region of northern Italy and had been set back due to an automobile accident. The Pink Beach of Budelli Island was the perfect place to shoot the film, as the backdrop of the set contrasted the life of the woman and the peace that she eventually desired. It was the director's first colored film at the time, so the natural vibrancy of the beach was captured well in post-production editing.