Residents in a beautiful Italian region are fighting plans to dump hundreds of maximum-security prisoners in its jails. Giorgia Meloni’s government argues that concentrating 750 of the country’s most dangerous mafiosi, killers and domestic terrorists in a small number of dedicated facilities will improve security – with Sardinia, a large island west of Italy, ordered to take a third of the offenders. Islanders have vehemently opposed the plans, however, afraid that Sardinia will become tantamount to the Cayenne, a former French penal colony dubbed the Devil’s Island and made famous in Henri Charrière’s 1969 book Papillon.

The popular tourist destination, which welcomed a record 4.5 million holidaymakers in 2024, will house the criminals in three jails, including one in its capital city of Cagliari. Locals are also worried the move will make Sardinia a more dangerous place to live, with the risk of the prisoners’ family and friends settling on the island and recruiting the its low-paid and unemployed inhabitants to their criminal enterprises.

Alessandra Todde, regional governor of Sardinia, has been among the residents taking to the streets of Cagliari in recent weeks to protest against the imminent measures.

Ms Todde told The Telegraph: “Sardinia does not intend to become the Cayenne of Italy. We have always done our bit in the fight against the mafia and organised crime, but we cannot accept such an unfair distribution [of prisoners].

“These are men who represent the highest echelons of mafia organisations, from the ’Ndrangheta to the Camorra, and they will have a profound impact on the island.”

Silvio Lai, a Sardinian lawmaker with the opposition Democratic Party, also warned that a mafia foothold in less developed parts of the island, including the city of Nuoro, could have repercussions for its tourist hotels and resorts.

“Weak economies can be infiltrated easily, and Nuoro is about an hour’s drive from the Costa Smeralda,” he told Reuters, referencing Sardinia’s best-known stretch of coastline, home to beautiful beaches and upscale accommodation.

Maria Cristina Ornano, head of the sentence enforcement tribunal in Cagliari, also warned: “Once organised crime takes root here, we will not be able to get rid of it.”

Ms Meloni’s conservative coalition has insisted the mass move won’t pose a safety risk, however.

Justice Undersecretary Andrea Demmastro Delle Vedove told regional officers in December: “This [plan] will ensure greater national security … [it] will make individual prisons safer because only specialist prison guard units will be deployed.”