Sardinia Maddened by Order to Take In Mafia Inmates

Sardinia's postcard image as a sun-and-sand escape is colliding with Rome's plan to turn it into a hub for Italy's most dangerous inmates. The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has ordered the island to take in about 250 of the country's top-level mafia bosses, killers, and domestic terrorists; that's a third of the 750 high-risk prisoners being consolidated into a handful of maximum-security facilities. The inmates, currently spread across 12 prisons in eight regions, are due to be shipped to three Sardinian jails in Cagliari, Nuoro, and Sassari in the coming weeks, reports the Telegraph.

Island officials who oppose the move say they've been stonewalled. Regional governor Alessandra Todde, who has publicly appealed to Meloni and received no reply, calls it an "unfair distribution" and warns that housing senior mafia figures could "have a profound impact on the island"—and not a positive one. Indeed, criminologists and prosecutors tell the Telegraph that relatives and associates typically move close to jailed bosses. With parts of Sardinia already struggling with high unemployment and low wages, critics say the risk of criminal infiltration is real. Reuters notes Nuoro is a particular concern, calling it a "less developed area" that is home to just 30,000 people.