Asinara Island

Situated off the coast of the northwestern tip of Sardinia, Asinara Island spans over 50 square kilometers. The island is entirely protected, and mostly uninhabited. Though humans have lived here since the Neolithic age, due to its prominent position, Asinara was known to the Phoenecians, the Greeks, and the Romans.

Made up of four mountainous sections, Asinara comes from “sinuara,” Latin for “sinuous.” Nowadays it is home to a population of wild albino donkeys. But once upon a time, Asinara Island was actually a prison colony and remained so up until 1997. For over a century, prisoners and the staff at the prison were the only inhabitants of the island.

Today it’s a protected area where tourists can visit through organized and guided tours, to experience its wild setting, steep rocky coasts and Mediterranean scrub. A wide variety of animals live here, from the donkeys to wild horses, boars, and peregrine falcons.