Asinara was once known as the Italian Alcatraz because of its high security prison and notorious guests; leading members of the paramilitary organisation Brigate Rosse and of the mafia. Nobody ever managed to escape apart from the Sardinian bandit Matteo Boe who got away in a dinghy on 1 September 1986. When the island became a prison in 1885 the original inhabitants left and until 1997 when it closed, only prisoners and guards lived there. This was obviously great for the natural environment which has remained home to wild sheep, albino donkeys, horses, goats and wild boar, in a glory of juniper and cistus bushes and mastic trees. After the closure of the prison, the island was established as a National Park. You can get there from Porto Torres with Delcomar ferries, leaving from the City Port (porto civico); the crossing lasts 75mins. You can hire bikes on the island, go on bus trips or with the tourist train, visit the ex-prison structure, dive in the protected marine area and in the underwater archaeological site of Cala Reale, and see the hoard of a Roman ship which sank in the 4th century. Climb up to the panoramic Punta della Scomunica (408m) where you can see the whole island and even as far as Corsica. If you wish to stay on the island over-night you should contact the hostel which used to be the prison guards HQ! For more info, click www.parcoasinara.org.