00:01You arrive at the port, step off the boat, and suddenly you're not in handcuffs anymore.
00:14The relationship with the inmates here is based on respect. Guards and prisoners work closely together in many ways.
00:22Yeah, it's beautiful and all, but it's still a prison, a real prison.
00:28Gorgona, in central Italy, is the northernmost island of the Tuscan archipelago.
00:35And at a little more than two square kilometers, it is also the smallest.
00:40It's home to one of Europe's last prison islands, and is pretty different compared to prisons of the mainland.
00:46I spent five and a half years in two other prisons. Coming here, I felt almost free.
00:51Piero is one of 90 inmates here. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and came to the island two and a half years ago.
01:02Just to reach the courtyard, we had to unlock and lock 50 doors in the other facilities.
01:07You constantly hear the turning of keys. Here they say, go to the administration yourself.
01:14Piero is spending his sentence working on the island's wine project, called Gorgona, created in cooperation with the Frescobaldi Winery.
01:22He has paid a regular wage for his labor. Every inmate is required to work. The island is self-sustaining.
01:30We're taking a lunch break before going up to the wine cellar.
01:34We're housed in that building over there.
01:40Murderers, thieves, drug dealers, all serving time here.
01:45I've been here for four months, and I have another eight years to go.
01:50I like it here in Gorgona.
01:54It's much better than other prisons.
02:01For Piero and his team, it's off to the wine cellar.
02:05But the inmates are never far from one of the 24 unarmed guards.
02:11It makes a huge difference. The relationship with the inmates is based on trust, not friendship.
02:18Though friendships between guards and prisoners can develop.
02:21We're told the last attempted escape was in the 1980s.
02:32Getting a place on the island is tough, the prison warden explains.
02:39A prisoner who comes here is carefully selected.
02:43We make sure they're not addicted to substances or violent, and therefore capable of living on the island.
02:49A long sentence doesn't reduce chances of being transferred here.
02:53In fact, it often favors it.
02:56The rate of re-offending here is very low.
03:02At 23, Wacar is Gorgona's youngest inmate.
03:06For nine months now, he's been caring for animals here.
03:09The truth is, time has flown by here.
03:13It's not like a closed security prison, where time stands still because you have nothing to do.
03:18The first thing we do every morning is feed the animals.
03:22We have goats, sheep, cows. That cow over there is sick. So we'll tend to her first.
03:33Every prisoner on Gorgona undertakes an apprenticeship.
03:37Every prisoner on Gorgona undertakes an apprenticeship.
03:41The work is designed to help inmates regain confidence and take on responsibility.
03:47I've been doing this job for nine months, and I love it.
03:53I'll do this work from the first day to the last.
03:57When I'm released, I want to become a blacksmith.
04:00After work, the men decide for themselves how to spend their free time.
04:11They can play music, go to the gym or play foosball.
04:15They're only locked up in the evenings, a stark contrast from their previous facilities.
04:22Italy's prisons are overcrowded and conditions are poor.
04:26In 2024 alone, 91 inmates took their own lives.
04:31There's no comparison. The island is a completely different world.
04:36There should be more places like this.
04:40Even so, Gorgona is still a prison.
04:44As beautiful as the island is, the men here still don't have the most important thing, their freedom.
04:51Gorgona, the island of prisoners, is still a crucial first step toward a better future.
05:00No one paused.
05:02No one entertained because of all.
05:04I came home and the island's
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