There are those who leave a place and those who, however, never really stop belonging to it. Mauro Morandi, known to all as the guardian of the Pink Beach, returned to Budelli in the most symbolic way possible: his ashes were entrusted to the sea which he protected with absolute dedication for over thirty years.
The man who had chosen the island as his home from 1989 to 2021, living in voluntary solitude and defending an uncontaminated corner of Sardinia, had expressed a clear desire: to return there, where it all began. A desire that has been respected today, returning Morandi to that landscape that he had transformed into a life mission.
The friend’s gesture and the final farewell
The gesture was made by long-time friend Nicola Mumoli, who recounted the moment on social media with words full of memory and affection:
There are goodbyes that truly never end. They remain suspended between the wind and the sea, between what we have been and what we will continue to be. The other day, in front of Budelli, the sea welcomed the ashes of Mauro Morandi. To the world he was “the guardian of the island”. For me he was much more: a true friend, for 43 years.
A farewell that has nothing definitive, but rather resembles a natural, almost inevitable return.
Now you’re back in Budelli, Mauro. Where time does not weigh and silence is not empty. Where the sea guards, without taking away. Have a safe trip, my friend. Now you have finally returned home… forever.
View this post on Instagram
The man who chose the essential
Morandi was not a hermit by chance. His was a precise choice: to move away from the noise to seek the essential. On the island of Budelli, he had found a rare balance, transforming his existence into a continuous dialogue with nature. He defended the Pink Beach not only from distracted tourists, but from an idea of consumption that risked compromising the fragility of that place. For him, the environment was something sacred and untouchable, to be guarded with respect.
A legacy that remains in the landscape
Removed from the island in 2021 after the area became public property, Morandi had left Budelli physically, but not emotionally. His story, also told in the book The juniper armchairremains today a symbol of ecological resistance and personal freedom. With the scattering of the ashes in front of the Pink Beach, that bond was recomposed. No longer a physical presence, but an integral part of the landscape, between wind and waves. Because in some places, perhaps, you don’t really return: you stay.
You might also be interested in:
