He was vacationing on the paradise island of Pianosa and never wanted to go back. It stayed that way and with good results.
When Giulia Manca traveled to Pianosa, a former Italian prison island, in 2011, she was looking forward to a relaxing break in the sun before returning home.
But 12 years after that checkin at the beachfront Hotel Milena, occupied by supervised and paroled convicts, Giulia has remained on the island known as the Alcatraz of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Pianosa island in Italy. Photo Getty Images
Today, Manca is the only woman living in the ghost village of Pianosa, part of the Tuscan Archipelago Marine Park. She serves both as a hotel manager and as the leader of the island’s rehabilitation program, managed by the Tuscan Prison Authorities and Arnera, a nonprofit organization with a social mission to help vulnerable people, such as prisoners, return to society.
“I stayed at the hotel for a week and didn’t want to leave,” Manca told CNN. “It was a unique vacation and the rehabilitation project fascinated me how these inmates were given a second chance at life.”
Second chance hotel? Guests pose for a photo with convicts working at the Hotel in Pianosa. Photo courtesy of Giulia Manca
“I fell in love with Pianosa. Its silence, the clear and paradisiacal turquoise sea, the peaceful starry nights”.
Once referred to as Devil’s Island, Pianosa sits between Corsica and the mainland and is now a cheerful retreat popular for its beautiful beaches and lush green vegetation.
Manca is one of only two permanent residents on the island: she lives and works alongside a jailer as well as ten male convicts who work as cooks, gardeners, waiters, beach cleaners and dishwashers at Hotel Milena, the only accommodation facility on the island.
Surrounded by pine trees, Hotel Milena has frescoed ceilings and 11 rooms with wooden furniture and a breathtaking view of the sea, as well as a large terrace where inmates serve drinks to guests at night, a restaurant and a bar.
Interior of the Milena Hotel. Photo courtesy of Giulia Manca
Manca had only been a guest at the yearround hotel for a few days when the director at the time informed her that the hotel was in financial difficulties and threatened with closure. In that case, the detainees would have to be transferred back to prison, which would quickly end their time in Pianosa.
“I felt like I had to do something to help them, or they would have to go back behind bars, in small cells with no chance of a fresh start and learning a job that could help them when they were released,” Manca adds , who previously worked as a travel agent.
Manca, who grew up in Tuscany, decided to stay and take the position of hotel manager. She says she initially worked for free and used her managerial skills to secure the hotel’s future.
In just a few short years, Manca has managed to turn things around, and the Hotel Milena has become a popular venue for weddings and birthday parties, with guests drawn in part by the hotel’s bohemian staff.
“The Alcatraz of the Tyrrhenian Sea” Photo courtesy of Giulia Manca
Located near Gorgona, another Italian prison island, Pianosa was founded in the 17th century to imprison outlaws, bandits and revolutionaries.
The island served as the base for a maximum security prison until 1998, when the prison closed. The few inhabitants eventually left the city and Pianosa remained deserted for many years.
Visitors were not allowed to enter the island until relatively recently, and those who visit can only join boat trips organized and booked by certain tour operators.
To be admitted to Hotel Milena’s rehabilitation program, applicants must already have served at least a third of their sentence and passed a rigorous series of psychological and social assessment tests.
Over the past 12 years, Manca has dealt with around a hundred probation officers convicted of a variety of crimes, including murder.
While she notes that many of the inmates have been convicted of more than “stealing daisies,” Manca has always felt comfortable on the island and considers it a safe haven.
She believes exoffenders should be given the opportunity to contribute to society rather than spending more time behind bars.
“I believe in the power of redemption and that offenders should be given a second chance too, that they shouldn’t be left to rot behind bars, but that they should be actively involved in rehabilitation efforts,” he says. “I like to see them come back to life through work.”
Known as the ‘Queen of Pianosa’, Giulia Manca admits her work has caused a stir among friends and family as being the only woman in a group of convicts is perceived as a risk.
“People kept saying I was crazy to take a job like that,” says Manca, who is also a member of Arnera. For “being the only woman working and living alongside male offenders who have not been charged with minor crimes.”
“But I was never scared or worried. I never thought about it again. I feel safer with them here than in the city with all these crazy people running around, you never know who you might run into.”
Pianosa served as the base for a maximum security prison until 1998. Photo courtesy of Giulia Manca
Being in charge of a group of offenders is challenging, and Manca says she does her best to set clear boundaries to ensure the rehabilitation program is effective.
As she explains, her relationship with her coworkers is one of mutual respect, and she has managed to strike a balance by maintaining distance, authority but openness to support them.
Every week, Manca hops on the ferry for the threehour sea journey to mainland Tuscany to run errands and paperwork, departing at dawn and returning to Pianosa at night.
Manca points out that unlike neighboring Gorgona, where convicts have to return to their cells after being released, in Pianosa prisoners are allowed to roam freely.
High success rate
Here inmates receive a monthly salary for their hotel jobs and live in former prison quarters that have been converted into cozy studios, with a gym, television, kitchen and private rooms with bathrooms.
They are also given cell phones so they can keep in touch with their families.
According to a 2020 Council of Europe report, Italian prisons are considered the most inhumane and overcrowded in Europe, with 120 inmates per 100 beds, while suicides in prisons have increased by 300% since 1960, with a 75% relapse in crime.
Therefore, pianosa is a much more attractive alternative for those nearing the end of their movement.
Manca is proud of the success of the “pianosa model” and says that the rate of those who spent time on the island and returned to crime fell to 0.01%.
“At night they can go to the beach and go swimming,” explains Manca. “However, they have to leave their accommodation early in the morning and return at a certain time in the evening, they are still under supervision and guarded by the guard.”
Criminals can serve out the rest of their sentences at hotels if they behave well, and some have spent five to ten years here.
But those who show no willingness to change risk being sent back to prison to serve out the rest of their sentence.
“All of them have served at least a third of their sentences and underwent rigorous psychological and social assessment tests to determine they were no longer dangerous and suitable for the rehabilitation program. [e] who really regret what they did,” adds Manca.
“Every day they have to prove their willingness to work and prepare for a better life. I don’t accept slips of paper.”
Manca enjoys keeping in touch with those who left Pianosa to start a new life, putting into practice the skills they learned on the island via social media. She explains that after working at the hotel, some have become counselors for prisoners in other prisons.
Manca is very proud of her role in this process and says those who, all those years ago, initially doubted her decision to stay in Pianosa, have now changed their minds.
“Even my daughter Yolanda, who was a bit skeptical about my work as a child, has come to appreciate the island and understand the importance of my work, and now she tells me that I am a happy person,” Manca concludes.