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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:05,880 Tom ward (narrates): An apparent paradise in Italy 2 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:09,440 designed to hold an all powerful prisoner. 3 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:12,480 It was reserved for mafia bigwigs 4 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:16,520 including one of the top mafiosi in Italy at the time. 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:20,240 A Maltese fortress with hidden depths. 6 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:25,240 These old tunnels formed the basis for a network of underground spaces 7 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,080 that would save an incredible number of lives. 8 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:33,680 An industrial monster lost in the Alaskan tundra. 9 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:36,240 It's half structure, it's half machine, 10 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,200 it's a burnt out carcus and you wonder 11 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:43,080 what this was used for, what it's purpose was. 12 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:47,200 And scattered remains both above and below ground 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:49,320 on a beautiful korean island. 14 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,200 This shore line is honeycombed 15 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,440 with these caves yet there is something more 16 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,280 to this island than being a tropical paradise. 17 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:06,720 Decaying relics. 18 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:11,600 Ruins of lost worlds. 19 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:16,960 Sites haunted by the past. 20 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:23,560 Their secrets waiting to be revealed. 21 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,480 On the shoreline of Malta is a site 22 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,640 that's watched over the capital city of valetta for centuries. 23 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,600 You see old forts all across Europe 24 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:54,160 but this is something different, something unique. 25 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,400 This is a fortress that is lavishly designed, 26 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:01,960 expensively designed to not only be functional 27 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:03,320 but also be beautiful. 28 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,400 Originally built to face one old enemy, 29 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:13,000 certain features betray a more recent call to arms. 30 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:14,960 The closer you get the more you can see 31 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,400 it's actually a little bit of a patchwork of buildings, 32 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:21,920 they've had to rebuild and, and change things and refortify. 33 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,040 But the fort itself is only part of this story. 34 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,040 Nearby there are tunnels hidden beneath the streets 35 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:30,760 and buildings of the city, 36 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:36,520 they're dark wet and humid and got a spooky feeling about them. 37 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:37,936 It's almost like a little underground 38 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:39,520 labyrinth beneath the city. 39 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:44,200 So, what connects these two places? 40 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:45,840 And how would they work together 41 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,680 in Malta's most desperate time of need? 42 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,480 Originally home to an order of Christian knights, 43 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:02,040 in 1565 just over a decade after being constructed 44 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,960 the fort was facing an unrelenting attack 45 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:06,240 by the ottomans. 46 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,200 The knights were vastly outnumbered, 47 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:15,080 it was something like 35,000 against less than 10,000. 48 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,440 It was a bloody and brutal conflict. 49 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,560 The siege lasted for almost a month, 50 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:27,040 in the end though the invading forces broke through. 51 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:33,120 A last band of knights found themselves hold up in the chapel, 52 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:36,480 they said their final prayers before heading out to face 53 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,000 what was almost certain death. 54 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,280 Charles debono is the site's resident historian. 55 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,440 They were praying for their soul, you know? 56 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,000 They were defending their religion, the Roman catholic church, 57 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:59,560 so this chapel was very important for them as the last chance 58 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:04,080 to pray before sacrificing themselves against the Turks. 59 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:10,560 The ottomans finally took the fort but couldn't hold on to the city. 60 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:15,960 Soon leaving the knights to reclaim and rebuild this place. 61 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,480 I mean the fighting was so brutal 62 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:20,640 that what you actually look at today is really constructed 63 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:22,240 after this, this time 64 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:23,960 but if you hunt around the patchwork 65 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:25,240 you can find some remnants 66 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:27,440 of the original constructs of this era. 67 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,440 This building, here that we are, 68 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:35,160 is the only remaining part of the original fort, 69 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:40,920 which was then later incorporated into the new fort Saint elmo. 70 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:44,920 The fort Saint elmo visible today 71 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:48,760 tells of hundreds of years of preparation for war. 72 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:52,600 But eventually the second siege of Malta would arrive. 73 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,000 Those extra towers and more modern editions 74 00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:59,680 they show you what was to come 75 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:03,640 but that begs the question was a centuries old fort 76 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:07,200 up to the task of dealing with a very modern kind of war? 77 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,720 The first stage of the reconstruction began in 1566. 78 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:20,000 But the fort was in fact just one part of a far larger plan. 79 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:25,520 The fort wasn't the only piece of construction under way, 80 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:30,360 the city itself was being rebuilt as well and it all linked together. 81 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,840 So, in order to build this lavish defensive facility 82 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:36,560 around the harbour, 83 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:41,840 the knights of Malta commission the local Maltese builders 84 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,400 to start quarrying the ground underneath. 85 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:51,400 As local historian Ryan vella knows well, 86 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:55,800 this was the starting point for the city's next chapter. 87 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:59,480 We are currently underneath the city of Valletta. 88 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,920 The place we are visiting today was constructed way back 89 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:07,840 during the knight's period in the late 16th century. 90 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:13,080 Probably the rock that was cut from within this quarry 91 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:18,280 was used to build the famous co-cathedral of Saint John, 92 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:22,200 which was the main church of the order of the knights. 93 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:26,880 As the city itself grew taller using the quarried stone, 94 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:29,640 so too did the new fort. 95 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:33,960 There are lots of different quarries around the whole area. 96 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:38,800 For example, beneath the area of fort Saint elmo 97 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:41,720 you had the digging up of the ditch, 98 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:46,280 which that rock was transformed into masonry stones 99 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:47,840 in order to build the fort. 100 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:52,040 The lower section of the walls 101 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:55,360 are from this early period of construction 102 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:59,160 but such fortifications weren't limited to this site alone. 103 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:04,640 The walls extended all around the city 104 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,720 with this fort spearheading the defence 105 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:09,280 and it didn't stop there. 106 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:15,560 You can see the fort being rebuilt but then there was an upgrade 1.1 107 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:18,600 you build it again, upgrade 1.2 you go even higher, 108 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:20,320 you make it more fortified 109 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:24,680 and the very fact that this particular strategic position 110 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:28,000 was important did not change for centuries. 111 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:31,800 The underground quarries also evolved over the years, 112 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:34,040 with the final and most surprising use 113 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,040 occurring in the second world war. 114 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,040 The place was first originated as a quarry 115 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:46,360 then it turned out to be changed over into a water reservoir. 116 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:50,160 Later on, in the mid of the 20th century 117 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:53,400 it had another vital use, 118 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:57,200 which was fully exploited by the Maltese community. 119 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:04,120 In the 1930s with Malta under British control 120 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:09,640 final preparations were made both below and above ground, 121 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,520 tragically it would be fort Saint elmo 122 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:15,280 that suffered the first blow in Malta's fight. 123 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:21,200 When Mussolini declares war on britain and France 124 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:23,040 on 10th June 1940, 125 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:26,160 on the next day, the first Italian aircraft appeared 126 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,160 over Malta and dropped their bombs. 127 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:31,560 The event is important 128 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:34,400 because the first soldiers were killed 129 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,960 during the first day of attacks on fort Saint elmo. 130 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:42,760 The second siege of Malta had begun. 131 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:47,640 It would continue for over two years 132 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:52,400 and some 15,000 tonnes of bombs would fall from the skies. 133 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,480 They used these spaces, 134 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:01,880 to enlarge them and also to dig extra rooms 135 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:04,360 in order to shelter the community over here. 136 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:07,480 People can immediately go underground 137 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,000 and spend some hours even maybe even days 138 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:12,600 living in these small little sort of holes 139 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:14,040 that they've carved for themselves. 140 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:20,200 It was scary for sure because the electricity was very minimal. 141 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:22,280 The place was overcrowded 142 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:27,120 because you had the whole community going down here for shelter. 143 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:34,440 The city's foundations helped protect the people, 144 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,480 but above ground the old fort had it's own role to play. 145 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:43,520 On the 26th of July 1941 146 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:46,720 Italian naval ships were spotted approaching the fort 147 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:48,760 and the grand harbour area. 148 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:50,800 An attack was on the cards 149 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:53,400 and the guns were about to be put to use. 150 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,840 The twin 6 pound coastal guns hit their targets. 151 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:03,840 There were only a handful of enemy vessels 152 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:07,440 approaching that day but the fort had done it's job. 153 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,680 A full invasion of the harbour was never attempted, 154 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,800 it seems the defensive presence of the fort 155 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:17,520 was enough to deter the enemy. 156 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:23,640 It was the same reason why the fort was built in 1552 157 00:10:23,680 --> 00:10:28,360 and then at the end of the great siege of 1565. 158 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:33,720 So, the role of the fort remained important and relevant 159 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:38,680 and very strategic until the second world war. 160 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:45,680 Finally decommissioned in 1972 for over 400 years 161 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,240 the old fort had kept the harbour safe. 162 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,160 Around 15,000 buildings were destroyed 163 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:00,040 by the bombing of Malta. 164 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:04,320 And tragically more than 1500 lives were lost. 165 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:09,120 If you look at a Maltese flag you'll see a George cross, 166 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,720 the highest medal that the British empire 167 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:15,200 gives to civilians 168 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:17,960 and that medal was awarded 169 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:21,960 to the entire population of Malta 170 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:27,840 for standing up under relentless German and Italian bombardment 171 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:29,720 throughout the second world war. 172 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,920 In the north west of Alaska lies an industrial wreck 173 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:41,960 trapped in a frozen landscape. 174 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:50,440 For people who weren't indigenous this is a harsh landscape, 175 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:55,760 it's bitter cold, there's snow, there's, there's frost, there's ice. 176 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:00,640 In stark contrast to it's desolate surroundings 177 00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:02,600 stands an engineering giant. 178 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,520 It's hard to say what it is at first glance. 179 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:10,240 It looks kind of like a building or a warehouse 180 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:13,200 but then it's got something that looks 181 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:16,920 kind of like a crane off of one end. 182 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:20,240 So, you've got this mad giant steam punk set up, 183 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:22,560 you've got all sorts of things going on. 184 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:24,456 The first question you have when you look at something 185 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:26,400 like this is who built this? 186 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:29,680 Who brought this massive piece of equipment 187 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:31,480 in to the middle of nowhere, 188 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:35,240 they must have been after something of extraordinary value 189 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:38,360 to go this absurd effort. 190 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:50,800 Rising from the flat and seemingly endless tundra, 191 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:53,920 this industrial monument can be seen for miles. 192 00:12:56,120 --> 00:13:00,040 As you approach you see the top, the frame peaking out, 193 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,960 you see rusting metal, it's a skeletal structure 194 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,920 that you wonder 195 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,560 whether it's meant to help extract something from the earth. 196 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:15,160 Bob hafner worked on this contraption for 25 years 197 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:18,120 and still remembers the first time he laid eyes on it. 198 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:22,160 So, the first time I'd seen one of those 199 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:24,120 I came here working for the airlines 200 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:27,320 and we were flying over the tundra and it was just bare tundra 201 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:30,400 for miles and then we came over the top of a hill 202 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:32,680 and seen what looked like a small village. 203 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:34,120 And everything sitting there 204 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:36,080 and I asked the pilot, I said what is that? 205 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:37,440 He said a dredge camp. 206 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,480 This is dredge number five, 207 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:45,720 a modern solution to a centuries old problem. 208 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:48,200 How to pull gold out of the ground. 209 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:55,720 It's found less than five miles outside the city of nome, 210 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,080 once a lawless frontier town 211 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:02,040 and site of the last great north American goldrush. 212 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:03,640 This is nome, Alaska, 213 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:06,880 a city that sprang up out of almost nothing 214 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:11,400 practically overnight for one reason, gold. 215 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:16,600 In September 1898 they discovered gold in this area, 216 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,280 suddenly gold prospectors came in from Europe, 217 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:23,400 from the rest of the america, from the San Francisco, 218 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:24,680 from Seattle 219 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:26,880 and even from as far away as Australia. 220 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:31,840 Just getting to nome was an adventure of a lifetime. 221 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:35,680 From Seattle it was either a treacherous two week boat ride 222 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:37,520 or an even longer land journey. 223 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:40,840 Finding the gold when you had arrived though 224 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:42,280 was surprisingly simple. 225 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,600 Here in nome, a few prospectors realised 226 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,960 they could literally find gold on the beach. 227 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:54,320 The very fact that the gold was found on a beach here, 228 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,000 that information flew around the world 229 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:00,520 yeah because if anyone was looking for gold it's hard work 230 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:02,240 and you have to stake your claim. 231 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:06,480 But on a beach there are no claims, it's every man for himself. 232 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,960 Within just a few months this little village of nome 233 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,800 had turned in to a city of 20,000 people. 234 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:19,360 This new city was a wild and boisterous place. 235 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:23,320 It had it's bars, it had it's clubs, it had it's brothels. 236 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:26,760 This was a rough tough frontier town. 237 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:29,840 Alaska still was a territory, it wasn't a state 238 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:32,080 so there wasn't much law up here. 239 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,680 Eventually they sent in a, a contingency of the army 240 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:39,040 er, to try to keep rule, it's a lot of claim jumping, 241 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:40,320 a lot of back stabbing 242 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,160 you know, gold especially when you get hungry 243 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:46,280 can turn men into something we don't want to admit we are. 244 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:51,440 At the turn of the 20th century searching for gold here 245 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:54,960 was mostly a very basic manual process. 246 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,120 Had simple means what's called a rocker and a, a... 247 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:00,440 A bucket that they would flow water over the top 248 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:02,920 and put some dirt in there and shake it back and forth 249 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:04,720 while they add a little bit of water to it. 250 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:06,280 It teaches you Patience. 251 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:11,760 Tolerance of this painstaking method did not last long. 252 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:13,560 Prospectors and engineers 253 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:17,120 soon began looking for more efficient ways to extract the gold. 254 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,440 As the easy pickings got taken, 255 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:24,920 bigger companies started moving in... 256 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:27,920 With serious investment in machinery. 257 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:31,040 It takes on a more industrial scale 258 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:35,280 that becomes a different beast really, 259 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:37,440 a more rationalised way of extracting 260 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:39,200 the resources from the land. 261 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:45,840 Dredge number five built in 1941 was a new breed of machine 262 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:48,920 that revolutionised the hunt for gold, 263 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:50,520 it could dig deeper, 264 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:54,720 faster and longer than any human with a pick and shovel. 265 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:58,560 On the front of the dredge here you can see the bucket line 266 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:00,280 which is a lot like a chainsaw, 267 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:02,800 it has a series of buckets linked together 268 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:06,760 and rotates in a big circle driven by a motor on the dredge 269 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:09,640 and it picks up the material from the pit. 270 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:15,680 But it did more than simply dig, it was a factory too. 271 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,160 Inside the dredge larger rocks were filtered out 272 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:23,040 before the gold was then separated from this finer mixture 273 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:25,360 by running water through a sluice box. 274 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:28,680 A lot of fine gold would wash out 275 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,000 which was what we really have around nome here, 276 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:33,760 it's mostly a real fine gold erm, 277 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:37,200 like salt pepper shaker kind of size pieces. 278 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,880 If you can move enough material every day 279 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:46,440 it could be worth investing a huge amount of money 280 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:48,200 in building a dredge like this. 281 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:53,280 But there was only so much gold in one place. 282 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,960 The dredge needed access to untapped ground. 283 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:03,560 What's amazing about these dredges and if you haven't seen one 284 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:05,440 I think this is the incredible thing, 285 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:07,080 is that they move. 286 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:10,600 There's no way you could put big enough wheels on this thing 287 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:13,200 to roll across this rugged terrain. 288 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:17,640 But if you can dig a pond then you can float the dredge 289 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:20,360 and then you can keep expanding your pond 290 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:22,000 as you move forward. 291 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:27,720 But the frozen ground surrounding the dredge was a major obstacle. 292 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,880 Thawing it involved the construction of huge ditch lines 293 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:35,680 that bought water in from 70 miles away 294 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:40,200 and once afloat moving the dredge was still a complex procedure. 295 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:43,480 What we have on the sides here, 296 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:46,440 what you're looking at is the winchlines 297 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,320 that are there to pull the boat back and forth, 298 00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:52,840 there's a series of winches that one pulls forward, 299 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:55,280 two pull sideways like this. 300 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:59,520 Incredibly this mechanical beast actually walked. 301 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:04,280 And what it has on the back that you can't really see 302 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:06,760 from this angle are two spuds. 303 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:09,560 One spud would drop down and lift the other one up 304 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:13,360 and so it would alternate and walk, the dredge would walk forward. 305 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:18,240 Shuffling this giant structure even a few metres 306 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:20,680 was a huge amount of work. 307 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:23,880 But all this effort was worth it when gold was struck. 308 00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:28,640 There's nothing more satisfying 309 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,160 when you get that first bit of gold and... 310 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:34,240 And it's in your hands and you're looking at it and this is yours 311 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:36,640 and you can take that almost anywhere in the world 312 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:39,560 and use that for money. 313 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:44,360 Despite it's decades of success, the profitable years would not last. 314 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:50,000 Often the price of the thing that you're mining is going down, 315 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:51,840 there are people mining all over the world, 316 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,040 the supply is increasing, 317 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,800 you're not getting as much out of the ground 318 00:19:56,840 --> 00:19:58,560 that's not a great combination. 319 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,560 It extracted millions of dollars of gold 320 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:03,920 from the ground here 321 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:06,680 and the town of nome has survived 322 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,600 and thrived over the years because of it. 323 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,120 Shutdown in 1996, 324 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:17,960 dredge number five now lies as a silent reminder 325 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:19,760 of a golden age. 326 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,840 For people like Bob it's not just the hunt for gold 327 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:29,320 that keeps them here, 328 00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:31,640 it's something that runs a little deeper. 329 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,560 I love nome, I love the region, I love the people. 330 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,520 So, I've, I don't really plan on retiring anywhere else, 331 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:41,240 if I made my million I'd spend it here at the grocery store. 332 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:50,680 On the island of jeju off the southern tip of South Korea 333 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:54,120 is an area littered with strange features. 334 00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:01,400 They look almost natural in the way they're kind of carpeted in grass 335 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:03,520 but they're too symmetrical 336 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:06,160 and they're laid out in some kind of a pattern. 337 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:08,320 You can see one after another 338 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:10,800 more than a dozen of these structures 339 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:14,360 which are not part of the terrain. 340 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:18,960 These unusual forms however are not alone. 341 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:26,160 Looking along the coast we see these evenly spaced caves, 342 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:30,120 dug in to the rock of the island and sort of disappearing 343 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:31,680 in to the island out of sight. 344 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:35,320 Very symmetrical, all sort of the same size openings 345 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:38,240 so they don't look like natural caves. 346 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:43,280 These cave structures are all over the island, 347 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:47,680 this shoreline is honeycombed with these caves. 348 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:50,800 Forgotten for years, 349 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:54,720 only recently has the full picture been pieced together. 350 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:58,840 You start to see that this whole island 351 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:01,080 might be hiding something. 352 00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:04,520 These strange little helices on the plateau, 353 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:08,480 these strange caves along the coast, 354 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,440 they all tie together in the same story. 355 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:21,680 The first clue to what happened here 356 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:24,880 is found within these small grass covered mounds 357 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:27,120 that date back to the second world war. 358 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:31,320 If we look at the actual opening in to these hills 359 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:33,080 it's shaped like an aircraft 360 00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:35,880 with a cut out for the fuselage and for the wing span 361 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:37,520 so basically these are hangars. 362 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:43,160 Local resident Lee yun-heong has scoured this land for clues 363 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:45,680 relating to the site's past life 364 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:48,400 when Korea was under Japanese occupation. 365 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:51,256 Lee translation: "There were fighter planes 366 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:53,040 "in this hangar like zero... 367 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:54,760 "Fighters or naval bombers. 368 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:59,640 "A total of 36 hangars were built on this airfield." 369 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:04,920 While today the surviving 20 hangars 370 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:08,200 are the most prominent reminders of this time, 371 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:10,800 hidden all around are other ruins. 372 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:14,920 "There is an airfield runway, an underground bunker, 373 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:17,920 "anti aircraft bunkers and many other facilities 374 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:21,440 "within a 1 kilometre radius of the airfield. 375 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:23,760 "Such a concentration of military facilities 376 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,600 "like this is hard to find anywhere else." 377 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,280 These are the remains of alddreu airfield, 378 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:37,240 a key part of Japan's operation seven defences. 379 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:40,736 Translation: "Number one to number six 380 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,480 "were operational areas in mainland Japan. 381 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:47,480 "However only jeju island was included in number seven. 382 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,280 Most of what we're seeing here is infrastructure 383 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:57,000 from late in the second world war when Japan shifts it's focus 384 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:02,600 to defending the Japanese home islands from allied invasion. 385 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:07,320 Translation: "Jeju was the only place outside of Japan 386 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:10,720 "that was included in the mainland's final defensive plans. 387 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:15,320 "That shows how much Japan valued the defence of jeju island." 388 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:22,600 From the moment the occupation of Korea began in 1910 389 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,160 Japan had ruled with an iron fist. 390 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:28,920 For those living in the south of jeju 391 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:31,600 the regimes brutal approach was felt 392 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:33,640 with the establishment of this airfield. 393 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:36,936 Translation: "The first phase of the airfields construction 394 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:38,680 "began in 1926. 395 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,000 "There were six villages here in jeju-do 396 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:45,960 "and the residents from each of those villages 397 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,720 "were evicted to make space for this airfield." 398 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,520 Japans treatment of the locals on jeju 399 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:54,280 was like their treatment of the locals 400 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:55,960 everywhere they occupied. 401 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:57,720 It was absolutely brutal, 402 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:02,480 they would force all the men into slave labour 403 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:05,600 and the women of jeju were forced in to prostitution. 404 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:09,520 The famous comfort women that the Japanese military demanded 405 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:11,440 to take care of their soldiers. 406 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:15,520 So, when the Japanese armed forces decide 407 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:18,960 that they need to use this area for an airfield, 408 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:20,920 they shave it flat 409 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:25,120 and they do that not by using industrial machinery 410 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:29,600 which is in short supply but by using korean forced labour. 411 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:33,176 Translation: "There were hills all over, 412 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,920 "however many residents of jeju 413 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:39,360 "were called up for forced labour to flatten the landscape here. 414 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:47,120 "The workers lived around here and did not have much to eat, 415 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:48,680 "there was a lot of hunger 416 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:50,800 "and there were many casualties in the process." 417 00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:01,280 Japan held little regard for the locals wellbeing, 418 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:03,360 their focus was firmly fixed 419 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,480 on exploiting this islands potential, 420 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:10,240 a potential that explains why jeju became so important 421 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:12,280 to their later defensive plans. 422 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:16,000 If you look at jeju island on a map 423 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:19,360 it's just in an unbelievably strategic location, 424 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,520 it's right smack in the middle of the east China sea 425 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:25,920 between Japan and mainland China. 426 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:30,200 If you wanted to build a base that would allow you to dominate 427 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:33,040 that whole region this is where you'd put it. 428 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,960 In the 1930s Japan was on the front foot 429 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:40,040 and looking to expand, 430 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:44,520 as they did with the invasion of China in the sino-Japanese war. 431 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:50,440 When Japan goes to war with China they need forward air bases, 432 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,240 this is an ideal spot 433 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,920 because it takes you part way to China 434 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,880 so that targets in manchuria 435 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:03,440 are bought within the range of Japanese air power. 436 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:06,640 But a few years later 437 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,960 when Japan was losing ground in the second world war 438 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,600 the role of the island was flipped on it's head. 439 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:16,576 Translation: "The airfield was originally built by Japan 440 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:19,040 "because of the sites geographical importance. 441 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,960 "That's why Japan's strategy was to think of jeju island 442 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:29,120 "as an important defensive base for the Japanese mainland battles 443 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,920 "and to devise and prepare for the mainland show down." 444 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:38,040 It's envisioned more and more as a sort of iwo jima type place 445 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:40,960 where the Japanese will mass ground troops 446 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,760 to fight a last stand against the Americans 447 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,080 who will be forced to attack it because of it's strategic location. 448 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:52,320 In January 1944 449 00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:56,840 there were just 300 Japanese troops stationed on jeju 450 00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:00,840 but that number was about to sky rocket. 451 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:05,760 By mid 1945 there are 70,000 Japanese troops on the island, 452 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,520 a third of the, the total number of Japanese troops 453 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:10,320 on the whole korean peninsula. 454 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:13,320 The Japanese defence concept 455 00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:16,720 was that the invader might land on the island 456 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:20,520 but that the island might then become a living hell for them. 457 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,640 Once again the local population 458 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:27,840 was forced to carry out back breaking work 459 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:31,120 as a new network of defences and subterranean bases 460 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:32,760 were carved out of the island. 461 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:38,800 Translation: "This is a large underground bunker 462 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:40,760 "built by the Japanese. 463 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,680 "It was big enough for vehicles to pass through, 464 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:47,440 "there were important facilities here 465 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:49,720 "including the command headquarters of the airfield 466 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:51,880 "and a torpedo storage facility." 467 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:57,400 This single underground facility stretches on into the darkness 468 00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,760 for 3 quarters of a mile. 469 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:03,200 But it was just a fraction of the true extent of the defences 470 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:04,880 hidden beneath the surface. 471 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:09,000 Translation: "In jeju there are about 472 00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:10,680 "700 underground tunnels 473 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:12,960 "dug by the Japanese during the pacific war." 474 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:19,000 As the so called operation seven got underway 475 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:21,080 the foremost defensive tunnels 476 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:23,680 were cut right in to the island's cliffs 477 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:26,160 and they harboured a deadly weapon. 478 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:30,440 They begin carving out these caves for these mini submarines 479 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:35,800 that will launch under sea kamikaze attacks against American warships. 480 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:41,400 Translation: "These bases were used to station boats 481 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,320 "loaded with over 500 pounds of explosives, 482 00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:45,800 "they would be driven by a soldier 483 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:49,320 "and used as a suicide bomber boat against the us ships." 484 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:58,120 The idea that somebody might give his life 485 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:01,120 in order to sink an American destroyer 486 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:03,280 using himself as part of a weapon, 487 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:06,760 that idea was genuinely disturbing 488 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,600 to Americans and very effective 489 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:15,080 both as a propaganda tool and as a military reality. 490 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,000 In the last years of the war, 491 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:23,720 it's estimated that over 7,000 naval personnel 492 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:27,400 were killed by aerial or seaborne kamikaze attacks. 493 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:33,000 It was a devastating tactic but it came at a huge price. 494 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:35,360 And it may help explain 495 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:37,920 why so many of these military positions here 496 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:39,640 are still intact. 497 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:42,560 In a way though all these kamikaze missions 498 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:45,200 might have backfired on the Japanese, 499 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:47,040 it convinced the Americans 500 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:49,680 that the Japanese military would never surrender, 501 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:52,000 that they would fight to the last man. 502 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:55,120 Taking the Japanese home islands to end the war 503 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:56,440 would have killed millions. 504 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:01,680 Using atomic bombs to end the war killed thousands. 505 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:05,160 The choice wasn't easy but the choice was clear. 506 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:09,760 The allied invasion of jeju at the beginning 507 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:14,120 of the allied invasion of Japan, that carnage was avoided. 508 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:22,960 What remains on jeju are some of the best examples 509 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:27,280 of Japanese pacific war infrastructure still in existence. 510 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,800 And now these remnants from that brutal occupation 511 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:33,400 have a far greater purpose. 512 00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:37,176 Translation: "I hope people around the world 513 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:38,920 "will recognise these facilities 514 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:42,120 "as places to reflect on that original war of aggression. 515 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:45,000 "The violation of the human rights of those enslaved 516 00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:47,040 "and the importance of peace." 517 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:59,880 Off the coast of sardinia is an 11 mile long slither of land. 518 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:02,240 A haven for nature and wildlife. 519 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:12,720 This island is a bit of a paradise, the lush vegetation, 520 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:16,600 the waters it's not surprise that it's a national park. 521 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:19,096 When you first come on the scene 522 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:22,640 this looks like an idyllic mediterranean island 523 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:26,160 with little rocky outcrops and olive trees. 524 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:30,000 Yet beyond this pastoral beauty 525 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:34,040 lies a series of abandoned buildings, 526 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:37,480 although virtually uninhabited by man today, 527 00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:41,480 they suggest the island once housed a significant population. 528 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:46,080 One particular building looks like it might almost be... 529 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:49,480 A monastery or religious retreat. 530 00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:53,800 It's very inward facing but then you see the barbed wire, 531 00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:57,320 you see the guard towers, inside you see the locked doors, 532 00:32:57,360 --> 00:32:59,920 you realise this is no monastery. 533 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:04,600 Eight miles away at the northern end of the island 534 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:08,720 is a second structure with strange design features. 535 00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:11,120 The closer you look you realise 536 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:14,280 that this wasn't just any old prison, 537 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:17,640 you have these huge high walls, the guard towers, 538 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:21,680 the spotlights and just one tiny hatch 539 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:23,560 for an entrance. 540 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:27,240 Within it's outer walls the mystery deepens. 541 00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:32,760 There are hardly any windows or openings to speak of... 542 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:38,480 And from above you can see there's a secondary inner structure, 543 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:41,880 almost a prison within the prison. 544 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:45,560 Whoever was held here was dangerous indeed. 545 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:49,640 So, how are these two sites linked 546 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:52,880 and who was locked up at the heart of this complex? 547 00:33:57,080 --> 00:33:59,000 On the southern end of the island, 548 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:00,760 a large rectangular building 549 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:03,640 is ominously surrounded by search lights, 550 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:06,400 metal bars and smashed guard huts. 551 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:11,120 Today access inside is strictly forbidden 552 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:13,880 but former prison guard gianmaria deriv 553 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:16,960 remembers what life was like for those on the inside. 554 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:22,280 Gianmaria translation: "Less freedoms, less space, 555 00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:24,360 "the procedures are really strict. 556 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:29,520 "So, they can't leave the building at all, 557 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:31,520 "everything takes place inside." 558 00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:36,560 This is forneli prison, 559 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:41,040 a maximum security facility where guards like gianmaria 560 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:43,320 could keep inmates on a tight leash. 561 00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:48,336 Translation: "Bringing them to an island on an island 562 00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:50,920 "we could say it was like cutting the umbilical cord." 563 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:57,520 Separated from the mainland by 180 miles of open sea, 564 00:34:57,560 --> 00:34:58,680 the Italian government 565 00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:01,840 saw the potential for this site as a place to lock up 566 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:04,520 Italy's most dangerous criminals. 567 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:09,000 Translation: "Originally it was a judiciary sanitorium 568 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:10,720 "and tuberculosis hospital 569 00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:14,240 "but then with the emergence of red and black terrorism in Italy 570 00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:16,440 "the government decided to turn this facility 571 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:18,080 "in to a supermax prison." 572 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:25,720 Extreme left wing groups known as red terrorists 573 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:29,960 were leading a wave of violence across Italy in the late 1970s. 574 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:35,280 Revolutionaries attempting to overthrow the capitalist state 575 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:38,360 and force Italy's withdrawal from NATO, 576 00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:41,480 the north Atlantic treaty organisation. 577 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:45,120 They had home grown ultra left wing 578 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:47,520 terrorist groups like the red brigades, 579 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:50,640 they were literally going to war against the country 580 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:51,880 and against the government. 581 00:35:53,240 --> 00:35:54,960 In 1978, 582 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:58,000 they even assassinated former Italian prime minister 583 00:35:58,040 --> 00:35:59,400 Aldo moral... 584 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:04,480 As members of the organisation were rounded up in response 585 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:06,680 the government increasingly turned 586 00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:09,120 to the isolated island of asinara 587 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:12,120 and used fornelli as a dumping ground. 588 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:15,120 They sent so many members of the red brigade 589 00:36:15,160 --> 00:36:16,480 to the fornelli prison 590 00:36:16,520 --> 00:36:18,600 that it became a huge focus of the group 591 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:20,360 to get those people released. 592 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:25,280 September 1979, 593 00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:28,160 a clash broke out on the streets of Rome. 594 00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:34,360 There was a huge shootout between red brigade forces 595 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:36,840 and the authorities 596 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:40,840 and when one of them was captured he had on him 597 00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:45,040 this whole elaborate plan for a mass escape 598 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:46,320 from the fornelli prison, 599 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:48,240 they were going to smuggle in machine guns, 600 00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:50,520 they were gonna have motor boats, 601 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:52,760 they were going to overwhelm the prison 602 00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:54,800 and get all these prisoners out. 603 00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:59,520 The plan had been scuppered but members of the brigade 604 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:03,360 inside fornelli took matters in to their own hands. 605 00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:05,400 Rioters destroyed cells 606 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:07,680 and smashed sections of the building. 607 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:12,016 Translation: "They had packed their stove top coffee machines 608 00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:13,800 "with explosives and plastic. 609 00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:17,680 "They had managed to create real bombs." 610 00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:24,040 Riot police on horseback surround the maximum security wing. 611 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:26,816 Translation: "There were tense moments 612 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:28,760 "but you weren't supposed to show fear." 613 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,080 Tear gas was launched in to the heart of the uprising. 614 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:37,280 Translation: "The red brigade attempted a rebellion 615 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:40,000 "and then tried to leave the facility but they failed, 616 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:42,440 "they surrendered at about 3am." 617 00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:49,120 The riot was quashed but soon after without warning 618 00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:52,720 the authorities transferred all the terrorists off the island. 619 00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:56,200 They began replacing them 620 00:37:56,240 --> 00:37:59,240 with Italy's new public enemy number 1, 621 00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:00,800 mafia bosses. 622 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:04,680 But to handle them they were going to need a new facility. 623 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:11,416 Enrico translation: "At the end of the day 624 00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:13,480 "we were selected. 625 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:17,880 "500 guards were chosen because of this situation." 626 00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:24,960 Enrico mereu was selected as head guard of a new specialised facility. 627 00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:28,880 Look out towers stood at each corner 628 00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:33,520 while walkways around the perimeter left no area out of sight. 629 00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:35,320 But at the centre of the facility 630 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:37,920 was one particularly strange feature. 631 00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:43,400 A new area was added to the design, the bunker, 632 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:47,520 built with reinforced concrete and surrounded with barbed wire. 633 00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:51,600 The bunker was a singular prison within a prison, 634 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:55,720 a tiny villa built within high stone walls 635 00:38:55,760 --> 00:38:58,080 and only one small entrance. 636 00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:01,000 It was designed to house just one man. 637 00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:06,720 That's where the top mafia boss or bosses were sent, 638 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:10,480 where they could really be isolated, you could keep an eye on them, 639 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:14,120 you could also protect them from being executed 640 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:16,760 by other forces or poisoned. 641 00:39:18,240 --> 00:39:23,160 The bunker was reserved for the top dog, 642 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:26,000 the last great sicilian mafia chief, 643 00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:30,880 Salvatore riina who was the head of the corleonesi clan. 644 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:35,600 He came from corleone in sicily 645 00:39:35,640 --> 00:39:40,280 and that is famously associated with the godfather trilogy. 646 00:39:42,040 --> 00:39:44,760 Riina had gone to war with the state, 647 00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:46,520 targeting top officials 648 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:49,040 and organising terrorist style bombings. 649 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:54,560 As the government fought back just as it had with the red terrorists 650 00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:58,760 this island became it's main prison for mobsters. 651 00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:01,560 Riina was given 26 life sentences 652 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:03,880 for the murder of hundreds of individuals. 653 00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:09,680 Two of riina's victims enrico had known personally. 654 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:14,000 Translation: "It was an awful experience for me, 655 00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:17,320 "I found myself here with riina, 656 00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:19,280 "the instigator of those murders." 657 00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:24,280 Riina's influence was such that even within prison walls 658 00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:26,680 he could wield great power. 659 00:40:26,720 --> 00:40:30,520 For a lot of Americans whose idea about the mafia comes from 660 00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:33,320 you know, the godfather movies and things like that 661 00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:37,280 it's hard to appreciate just how powerful the mafia was... 662 00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:39,520 Up until really quite recent times, 663 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:41,960 it was almost like a shadow government. 664 00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:48,840 The surrounding area was patrolled by 100 agents, 665 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:52,120 boats crisscrossed the sea day and night, 666 00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:55,360 threats from the sky were monitored with radar. 667 00:40:57,360 --> 00:41:00,840 Controls within the bunker had to be equally water tight. 668 00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:05,360 Translation: "So, every time we entered or left the bunker 669 00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:06,840 "we had to search each other. 670 00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:10,680 "In fact there were no friends allowed here." 671 00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:16,720 Even his food was bought to him in a special briefcase 672 00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:19,640 to avoid attempts at poisoning. 673 00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:23,160 We always hear a lot about codes of honour among the mafia types 674 00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:26,080 but history shows that provided with the right incentives 675 00:41:26,120 --> 00:41:28,240 they'll turn on each other in a heartbeat. 676 00:41:29,680 --> 00:41:32,720 Protocols were designed to prevent corrupt guards 677 00:41:32,760 --> 00:41:36,400 carrying out assassinations on behalf of rival mafiosi 678 00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:38,280 looking to take riina's crown. 679 00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:43,136 Translation: "We couldn't carry cell phones or paperwork 680 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:46,040 "that might endanger you by revealing your identity. 681 00:41:48,240 --> 00:41:51,160 "We couldn't talk or mention names of wives or daughters. 682 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:54,240 "Nothing at all. 683 00:41:56,640 --> 00:41:59,760 "We talked only about the service, 684 00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:00,960 "that was it." 685 00:42:02,760 --> 00:42:07,520 Prison is brutalising for everyone, these prisons were, 686 00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:09,480 were terrible places for the prisoners 687 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:11,776 but also for the guards who were in fear for their lives 688 00:42:11,800 --> 00:42:17,000 and so isolated, so far away from normal civilisation, 689 00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:19,880 it had to have been a very rugged existence. 690 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:24,600 The real need for this extreme isolation 691 00:42:24,640 --> 00:42:28,920 was not about preventing escape but getting them to turn informer. 692 00:42:31,120 --> 00:42:36,720 They isolated them so thoroughly that the idea was they would realise 693 00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:38,960 wait if I'm facing 20 years 694 00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:41,600 where I can't talk to any of my associates, 695 00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:45,920 I can't do any of my former business, 696 00:42:45,960 --> 00:42:49,160 I might as well become an informant and maybe get out earlier. 697 00:42:50,240 --> 00:42:52,880 Yet riina never turned. 698 00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:56,880 Enrico hand delivered his dinner in an armoured briefcase 699 00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:59,280 every day for 4 years. 700 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:03,040 Until the prison was closed down in 1997. 701 00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:06,320 By the late 90s the tide of violence 702 00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:09,960 from first the red brigades and then the mafia 703 00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:13,720 was receding and law enforcement was getting the upper hand 704 00:43:13,760 --> 00:43:17,600 and they realised they didn't need this kind of ultra security 705 00:43:17,640 --> 00:43:20,360 er, prison to the same degree. 706 00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:25,880 The so called beast lived out his days in a different prison 707 00:43:25,920 --> 00:43:27,600 in solitary confinement. 708 00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:31,680 At the time of his death in 2017 709 00:43:31,720 --> 00:43:35,280 some claimed that tota riina was still operating 710 00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:37,560 as the head of sicilian mafia. 711 00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:43,680 Today, asinara is a national park, 712 00:43:43,720 --> 00:43:47,880 home to the rare albino donkeys that gave the island it's name. 713 00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:51,280 The dilapidated prison structures 714 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:54,520 are preserved as relics of a very different time. 715 00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:57,840 One that is thankfully consigned to the past. 716 00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:04,120 Captioned by ai-media ai-media. TV 59951

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