Many of us might enjoy some quiet time on occasion, but one man took it to an extreme.
Mauro Morandi was nicknamed Robinson Crusoe after spending some 32 years living on an island all by himself.
In 1989, Morandi had been sailing his catamaran to the South Pacific when he broke down and stumbled upon the tiny island of Budelli, just off Sardinia in the Mediterranean.
After discovering that the island’s caretaker was retiring, Morandi sold his boat and took over the role.
He would live on the island for 32 years, before being evicted by Italian authorities in 2021, and died in 2025, aged 85.
In an interview with The Guardian, he said: “I became so used to the silence. Now it’s continuous noise.”
