Italy buys back private island

Photo: Fabriziosinopoli

The island, located just off the Coast of Sardinaia, was sold earlier this year at auction to a New Zealand businessman for the sum of £2.5 million.

The island is well known for its starring role in the 1964 Italian movie Red Desert. After its owners went bankrupt, though, it was put under the hammer.

The country intended to buy the estate then, but could not raise enough money to outbid the Kiwi buyer. Now, though, the government is set to snatch it back for themselves having been offered first refusal on the island - an offer that expires on 8th January 2014.

The Senate Budget Committee passed an amendment last month to allow the country to put £2.6 million towards the campaign.

Budelli is a private island, with no ships permitted to land or drop anchor within 100 metres of its shores. On the island are a caretaker's home, the ruins of a cabin and a dry stone wall, reports The Daily Mail. According to the newspaper, the island was originally the home to hermits in the 13th Century, who are thought to have moved between a group of similar islands using underground tunnels.