The world knows Italy for its naturally rich gorgeous destinations, but how many of you are aware of the existence of a cursed island in the country? The name of the island is Gaiola, and there is absolutely no end to the misfortune that follows whosoever decides to put a foot on the cursed island!

Location and history

Gaiola is one of the minor but most gorgeous islands of Naples in Italy. Now abandoned, this cursed island has a reputation of premature deaths, mental illness, accidents in the families of owners. Besides, it has been reported that those who have been on the island have never come back, either in their living or ᴅᴇᴀᴅ form!

The tale of unfortunate events

At the beginning of the 19th century, the island was inhabited by a hermit, who was popularly known as The Wizard. Later, Luigi Negri, who owned a huge fishing firm bought the island in the late 1800s and built a villa here, which is still there. Soon, he ran out of all money and had to sell all his belongings. During the 20th century, the villa, along with the island, was owned by a number of people and all of them had to go through the worst time of their lives. A series of misfortunes followed and swallowed every owner of the island, notorious for its cursed status.

In the early 1900s, the island was owned by Hans Braun, a wealthy Swiss man. Soon after, his body was discovered wrapped in a rug while his wife drowned in the sea. The island was then taken over by Otto Grunback, who suffered a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly heart attack and died on the spot while he was spending time at his newly bought villa. The next famous owner of the island was writer Maurice-Yves Sandoz, who just after buying the place went mad and ended up in a Swiss asylum. Later, he committed suicide inside the same mental hospital.

Then, Baron Karl Paul Langheim, a German industrialist, bought it but soon his company went bankrupt. He had to sell off the island to Gianni Agnelli, the renowned industrialist and the head of Fiat, an automobile manufacturer. He, too, after purchasing the island had to suffer a lot and faced a number of tragic deaths in his family. The island was then taken by an American industrialist Jean Paul Getty, who too had to go through a series of unfortunate events wherein he lost his oldest son to suicide; his youngest son too died in mysterious circumstances while his grandson was kidnapped by some ᴅᴇᴀᴅly criminals.

The last known owner of the island Gianpasquale Grappone ended up in prison while his wife died in a car accident.

The present status of the island

Gaiola Island came under government control in the year 1978, and with that came the marine reserve, now known as the Underwater Park of Gaiola or Parco Sommerso di Gaiola. As of now, nobody lives on the island and it’s been 40 years that the island has been uninhabited; however, the mystery surrounding the island doesn’t seem to fade, as owners of a villa just opposite to the Gaiola Island were found ᴅᴇᴀᴅ under mysterious circumstances!