cnn
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When Giulia Manca traveled to Pianosa, a former Italian prison island, back in 2011, she hoped to take a relaxing break in the sun before returning home.
But more than 12 years after staying at the beachfront Hotel Milena, staffed by supervised convicts on parole, Manca has remained on the island known as the Alcatraz of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Now the only woman living in the ghost town of Pianosa, part of the Tuscan archipelago's marine park, Manca serves as hotel manager and supervisor of the island's rehabilitation program, run by Arnera, a nonprofit organization. nonprofit with the social mission of helping vulnerable people. people like prisoners reintegrate into society and the prison authorities of Tuscany.
“I stayed at the hotel for a week and I didn't want to leave,” Manca tells CNN. “It was a unique holiday and I was fascinated by the rehabilitation project, how these prisoners were given a second chance at life.
“I fell in love with Pianosa. The silence of it, the turquoise sea, clear and paradisiacal, the quiet starry nights.”
Pianosa, once nicknamed Devil's Island, located between Corsica and the mainland, is now a wonderful refuge loved for its beautiful beaches and lush green vegetation.
Manca, one of the only two permanent residents of the island, lives and works alongside a prison guard, as well as 10 male prisoners, who work as cooks, gardeners, waiters, beach cleaners and dishwashers at the Milena Hotel, the only accommodation on the island. .
Surrounded by pine trees, Hotel Milena has frescoed ceilings and has 11 rooms with wooden furniture and a stunning sea view, as well as a large courtyard, where inmates serve evening drinks to guests, a restaurant and a bar.
Manca had only been staying at this unique hotel, open all year round, for just a few days when the then manager informed her that the establishment was going through financial difficulties and was at risk of closing.
If this were to happen, the detainees would have to be transferred back to prison, quickly ending their stay in Pianosa.
“I felt like I had to do something to help them or they would have gone back behind bars, inside tiny cells, with no chance to start over and learn a job that can help them once they are released,” adds Manca, who previously worked as an agent. tourist.
Manca, who grew up in Tuscany, decided to stay and take on the role of hotel manager. She says she initially worked for free and used her management skills to help secure the hotel's future.
In just a few years, Manca was able to turn things around significantly, and Hotel Milena has become a popular wedding and birthday venue, with guests, partly attracted by the hotel's unconventional staff, flocking.
Located near Gorgona, another Italian prison island, Pianosa was created during the 18th century to confine outlaws, bandits and revolutionaries.
The island served as a base for a maximum security prison until 1998, when the prison was closed. Its few residents eventually left and Pianosa was deserted for many years.
Visitors were not allowed on the island until relatively recently, and those who do visit can only come as part of an organized boat tour that must be booked through specific tour operators.
To be admitted to the Milena Hotel rehabilitation program, applicants must have served at least one-third of their prison sentence and have undergone a series of strict psychological and social evaluation tests.
Over the past 12 years, Manca has dealt with around a hundred criminals on parole for a multitude of crimes, including murder.
Although she notes that many of the inmates have been convicted of much more than “stealing daisies,” Manca has always felt comfortable on the island and considers it a kind of safe harbor.
He also firmly believes that ex-offenders should be given the opportunity to contribute to society instead of spending more time behind bars.
“I believe in the power of redemption and that even criminals should be given a second chance, they should not rot behind bars but actively participate in rehabilitation tasks,” he says. “I like to see them come back to life through work.”
Known as the “Queen of Pianosa,” Manca admits that her work has attracted attention among her friends and loved ones due to the perceived risks of being the only woman with a group of prisoners.
“People kept saying I was crazy to take a job like that,” says Manca, who is also a member of Arnera. “Being the only woman who works and lives next to male criminals who have not been accused of minor crimes.
“But I have never felt scared or worried. I've never thought twice about it. “I feel safer with them here than in the city with all those crazy people running around, you never know who you might run into.”
While being in charge of a group of offenders has its challenges, Manca says he does his best to create clear boundaries to ensure the rehabilitation program is effective.
She explains that her relationship with her staff is one of mutual respect and that she has been able to achieve a balance by keeping her distance and being authoritative but open in order to support them.
Every week, Manca hops on the ferry for a three-hour sea trip to mainland Tuscany to run errands and bureaucratic matters, leaving at dawn and returning to Pianosa at night.
Manca points out that unlike nearby Gorgona, where prisoners must return to their cells after clocking in, those at Pianosa can roam freely.
Inmates here receive a monthly salary for their jobs in hotels and stay in the old prison quarters, which have been remodeled into cozy studios, with a gym, television, kitchen and private rooms with bathrooms.
They are also given mobile phones so they can keep in touch with their families.
Italian prisons are considered among the most inhumane and overcrowded in Europe, with 120 inmates per 100 beds, according to a 2020 report by the Council of Europe, while suicides in prisons have increased by 300% since 1960, with a relapse of 75%. in crime.
Therefore, Pianosa is undoubtedly a much more attractive alternative for those who are approaching the end of their sentence.
Manca is proud of the success of the “Pianosa model” and explains that the recidivism rate of those who have spent time on the island has been reduced to 0.01%.
“In the afternoons they are free to go down to the beach and take a dip,” explains Manca.
“However, they must leave their accommodation early in the morning and return at a certain time in the evening, they are still under supervision and there is a guard watching over them.
Criminals can serve the rest of their sentence working at the hotel if they behave, and some have spent five to ten years here.
But those who do not demonstrate a willingness to change risk being sent back to prison to complete the remainder of their sentence.
“All have served at least a third of their prison sentence and have undergone strict psychological and social evaluation tests to determine that they are no longer dangerous and suitable for the rehabilitation program.” [and] that they really regret what they did,” adds Manca.
“They must demonstrate every day their willingness to work and prepare for a better life. “I don’t accept any slip-up.”
Manca likes to keep in touch with those who have left Pianosa to start a new life, putting into practice the skills they learned on the island, through social networks.
He explains that some of them became prisoner councilors in other prisons after working at the hotel.
Manca is very proud of her role in the process and says those who were initially hesitant about her decision to stay at Pianosa all those years ago have now changed their minds.
“Even my daughter Yolanda, who as a child was a little skeptical of my work, has come to appreciate the island and understand the importance of what I do, and now she tells me that I am a lucky person,” says Manca.
