Private 'rich man's paradise' island left abandoned for years after eerie past of unexplained deaths

A little island just off the Gulf of Naples, with picturesque scenery and clear emerald waters washing over ancient ruins sounds like a dreamy place for a day out on a holiday.

The island even has a private villa on it with amazing panoramic views - perfect for a holiday spot.

Although it looks like something out of a postcard just waiting for people to go to and admire, no one has dared to visit the island in a very long time.

But after an eerie past of unexplained deaths, the private ‘rich man’s paradise’ has now been abandoned for years.

Once a favourite spot for the rich, there’s now talks that the place is ‘cursed’.

angela serino/Flickr

Back in the day - like really back in the day - the Isola della Gaiola was popular with the Romans, as some believe that the great poet Virgil taught there.

But the ancient legends have scared even locals away.

It’s said that a hermit lived there in the 1800s, known as ‘The Wizard’.

Completely isolated from the rest of the community, he sometimes got help from fishermen but then he mysteriously vanished.

And as The Wizard was so alone, there was no explanation for just what exactly happened to him.

After him came Luigi de Negri who built the mega villa that still sits on the island too. But unluckily for him, his finances totally crashed.

Then there’s the story of a sea skipper in 1911.

Salvatore Laporta/KONTROLAB /LightRocket via Getty Images

Captain Gaspare Albenga was said to be interested in buying the island itself but his boat crashed into the rocks and drowned.

However, neither his body or his ship were found and stories among locals even suggest it didn’t actually sink but he simply disappeared.

Yeah, creepy right?

After this, there was the case of Hans Braun, the owner of the villa who was murdered and found wrapped in a rug, with his wife drowning shortly after.

Then the next owner had a heart attack while another committed suicide.

Of course, it’s likely these stories have been dramatized over time but it’s still all a little dark.

But in the last few decades, there has still been some rather, well, unfortunate happenings.

Wikicommons

Gianni Agnelli, the head of Fiat, once owned the property but he lost a string of relatives and then multi-billionaire John Paul Getty eventually bought the island.

He really went through it, with his grandson kidnapped by the mafia, asking for millions for his return.

And the last owner, Gianpasquale Grappone, ended up jailed due to a debt.

So nowadays, with all these eerie stories and happenings, the island remains pretty much abandoned and the villa left to rot.

The Isola della Gaiola is now part of a protected marine area and can be reached in a short swim from the mainland, but it seems no one wants to approach the cursed island.

I can't say I blame them.

Topics: Travel, History, Weird

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_