Meet Giulia Manca, Sole Woman Living Among Convicted Criminals

Giulia Manca came to Italy's ghost island Pianosa for a fun getaway but she didn't know that she would love it so much here that she will build a life there. What's interesting is that she is the only female resident of the island living with several convicted criminals who help her in operating her business.

Life really has mysterious ways and sometimes it has things planned out for you that you could never have imagined. Giulia Manca's story is not about finding love in an unexpected place or achieving impossible dreams, she discovered her life in a place on a ghost island inhabited by convicted criminals on probation.

As bizarre and dangerous as it sounds, Giulia Manca is living her best life on this island and is happy being the only woman resident of Pianosa.

Woman Living With Criminals On Island

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In 2011, Giulia Manca wanted to take a relaxing and sunny getaway on a beach before returning home and she chose Pianosa, known as the Alcatraz of the Tyrrhenian Sea, as her destination. She checked into Hotel Milena by the beach which is operated by convicted criminals who are on probation.

However, her week-long stay there fascinated her so much that she didn't want to leave. She saw how the rehabilitation project helped give criminals a second chance at life and decided to stay for good.

12 years later, Manca is one of the only two permanent residents of the island and the only female. She is now the manager of the hotel and also serves as the supervisor for the rehabilitation program of the island which is run by Tuscany prison authorities and an NGO named Arnera.

Her staff at Hotel Milena includes 10 male convicts and a jail guard. The convicts work as chefs, gardeners, beach cleaners, waiters and dishwashers.

When Manca visited Hotel Milena for the first time, the then manager informed her that the hotel was struggling financially and faced the risk of getting closed down. This meant that the inmates will be back to their life in jail and would never get a chance to life a normal life again. Manca reportedly said, "I felt I had to do something to help them or they would have gone back behind bars, inside tiny cells with no chance of a fresh start and of learning a job that can help them once they’re released".

A tourist agent at that time, Manca took up the job of hotel manager for free and decided to get it back on its feet. It took her only a few years to turn things around for the hotel and make it a popular destination for parties, weddings and birthdays. The hotel is open year-round is always flocking with guests and the staff is busy attending to them.