25 February 2024 , 09:13
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A private 'rich man's paradise' island has been left abandoned after an eerie string of murders and unexplained deaths.
The island of Gaiola, which is said to be "cursed", was a favourite among the wealthy, but it also has a dark reputation with a series of disappearances, drownings and murder in its history. Situated off the coast of Naples, it has the appearance of scenic destination for daytrips because of its the shoreline location, but no-one has dared to visit it for years.
The island is now abandoned and isolated with a decrepit villa looking down on the waters below. It was once popular with the Romans, who built a temple there to honur Venus, It then had the name Euplea and historic poet Virgil taught his students there. Ancient legends, however, are responsible for keeping the locals away.
La Gaiola in Naples looks down on the water below (Universal Images Group via Getty Images)A hermit who was dubbed "The Wizard" lived on Gaiola and existed with the help of fishermen. He mysteriously vanished and many people nearby now reckon he cursed the island before leaving. After he left a villa was built and in 1911 a sea skipper Captain Gaspare Albenga, was interested in buying it. But the rocks claimed his boat after a crash and he drowned. But neither his body or ship were found.
Other stories tell other tales of woe including Hans Braun from Switzerland who lived there in the 1920s. His body was discovered dead and wrapped inside a rug. His wife is said to have later drowned at sea.
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An aerial image of Marechiaro La Gaiola, Napoli (Getty Images)A German named Otto Grunback, who briefly owned the island, died of a heart attack in the villa. And another owner, Maurice-Yves Sandoz, bought the property and wen insane and killed himself in a Swiss mental hospital. It was also once belonged to Gianni Agnelli, the head of Fiat, who lost many of his relatives and multi-billionaire Paul Getty later bought the island after his grandson was kidnapped.
The island is uninhabited and locals do not want to visit because of its troubled past (LightRocket via Getty Images)Gianpasquale Grappone, the last owner, was jailed because of a debt. The villa still remains empty and in a state of disrepair and the island abandoned. Now owned by Campania Region who established the Gaiola Underwater Park and made it a marine protected area. The Mirror reported on another paradise which was transformed into a drugs den after urban explorers stumbled across its use as part of a nefarious plot.
An old image of the abandoned villa on the Island of Gaiola (Wiki Commons)Images showed equipment left behind at the former stately home near Powys, Wales, which has more recently been used as a cannabis farm. Power supplies and growing equipment could still be seen inside the mansion, which was later transformed into an idyllic hotel - as evidenced by the keys left behind - before being ravaged by a drugs gang.
An urban explorer called Daniel who discovered the mansion after hearing tales about it, said: "I had heard a rumour of an abandoned hidden mansion in the Welsh countryside so I decided to see if I could track it down and see if the rumours were true."