All language subtitles for Abandoned.Engineering.S07E06.The.Mafia.Bunker.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-squalor_track3_[eng]

Tom ward (narrates): An
apparent paradise in Italy

designed to hold an
all powerful prisoner.

It was reserved
for mafia bigwigs

including one of the top
mafiosi in Italy at the time.

A Maltese fortress
with hidden depths.

These old tunnels formed the basis
for a network of underground spaces

that would save an
incredible number of lives.

An industrial monster
lost in the Alaskan tundra.

It's half structure,
it's half machine,

it's a burnt out carcus
and you wonder

what this was used for,
what it's purpose was.

And scattered remains
both above and below ground

on a beautiful korean island.

This shore line is honeycombed

with these caves yet
there is something more

to this island than
being a tropical paradise.

Decaying relics.

Ruins of lost worlds.

Sites haunted by the past.

Their secrets waiting
to be revealed.

On the shoreline
of Malta is a site

that's watched over the capital
city of valetta for centuries.

You see old forts
all across Europe

but this is something
different, something unique.

This is a fortress that
is lavishly designed,

expensively designed
to not only be functional

but also be beautiful.

Originally built to
face one old enemy,

certain features betray a
more recent call to arms.

The closer you get
the more you can see

it's actually a little bit of
a patchwork of buildings,

they've had to rebuild and,
and change things and refortify.

But the fort itself is
only part of this story.

Nearby there are tunnels
hidden beneath the streets

and buildings of the city,

they're dark wet and humid and
got a spooky feeling about them.

It's almost like a
little underground

labyrinth beneath the city.

So, what connects
these two places?

And how would they work together

in Malta's most
desperate time of need?

Originally home to an
order of Christian knights,

in 1565 just over a decade
after being constructed

the fort was facing
an unrelenting attack

by the ottomans.

The knights were
vastly outnumbered,

it was something like 35,000
against less than 10,000.

It was a bloody
and brutal conflict.

The siege lasted
for almost a month,

in the end though the
invading forces broke through.

A last band of knights found
themselves hold up in the chapel,

they said their final prayers
before heading out to face

what was almost certain death.

Charles debono is the
site's resident historian.

They were praying for
their soul, you know?

They were defending their
religion, the Roman catholic church,

so this chapel was very important
for them as the last chance

to pray before sacrificing
themselves against the Turks.

The ottomans finally took the
fort but couldn't hold on to the city.

Soon leaving the knights to
reclaim and rebuild this place.

I mean the fighting
was so brutal

that what you actually look
at today is really constructed

after this, this time

but if you hunt
around the patchwork

you can find some remnants

of the original
constructs of this era.

This building, here that we are,

is the only remaining
part of the original fort,

which was then later incorporated
into the new fort Saint elmo.

The fort Saint
elmo visible today

tells of hundreds of years
of preparation for war.

But eventually the second
siege of Malta would arrive.

Those extra towers and
more modern editions

they show you what was to come

but that begs the question
was a centuries old fort

up to the task of dealing with
a very modern kind of war?

The first stage of the
reconstruction began in 1566.

But the fort was in fact just
one part of a far larger plan.

The fort wasn't the only piece
of construction under way,

the city itself was being rebuilt
as well and it all linked together.

So, in order to build this
lavish defensive facility

around the harbour,

the knights of Malta commission
the local Maltese builders

to start quarrying the
ground underneath.

As local historian
Ryan vella knows well,

this was the starting point
for the city's next chapter.

We are currently
underneath the city of Valletta.

The place we are visiting
today was constructed way back

during the knight's period
in the late 16th century.

Probably the rock that was
cut from within this quarry

was used to build the famous
co-cathedral of Saint John,

which was the main church
of the order of the knights.

As the city itself grew taller
using the quarried stone,

so too did the new fort.

There are lots of different
quarries around the whole area.

For example, beneath
the area of fort Saint elmo

you had the digging
up of the ditch,

which that rock was
transformed into masonry stones

in order to build the fort.

The lower section of the walls

are from this early
period of construction

but such fortifications weren't
limited to this site alone.

The walls extended
all around the city

with this fort
spearheading the defence

and it didn't stop there.

You can see the fort being rebuilt
but then there was an upgrade 1.1

you build it again, upgrade
1.2 you go even higher,

you make it more fortified

and the very fact that this
particular strategic position

was important did not
change for centuries.

The underground quarries
also evolved over the years,

with the final and
most surprising use

occurring in the
second world war.

The place was first
originated as a quarry

then it turned out to be changed
over into a water reservoir.

Later on, in the mid
of the 20th century

it had another vital use,

which was fully exploited
by the Maltese community.

In the 1930s with Malta
under British control

final preparations were made
both below and above ground,

tragically it would
be fort Saint elmo

that suffered the first
blow in Malta's fight.

When Mussolini declares
war on britain and France

on 10th June 1940,

on the next day, the first
Italian aircraft appeared

over Malta and
dropped their bombs.

The event is important

because the first
soldiers were killed

during the first day of
attacks on fort Saint elmo.

The second siege
of Malta had begun.

It would continue
for over two years

and some 15,000 tonnes of
bombs would fall from the skies.

They used these spaces,

to enlarge them and
also to dig extra rooms

in order to shelter the
community over here.

People can immediately
go underground

and spend some hours
even maybe even days

living in these small
little sort of holes

that they've carved
for themselves.

It was scary for sure because
the electricity was very minimal.

The place was overcrowded

because you had the whole
community going down here for shelter.

The city's foundations
helped protect the people,

but above ground the old
fort had it's own role to play.

On the 26th of July 1941

Italian naval ships were
spotted approaching the fort

and the grand harbour area.

An attack was on the cards

and the guns were
about to be put to use.

The twin 6 pound coastal
guns hit their targets.

There were only a
handful of enemy vessels

approaching that day but
the fort had done it's job.

A full invasion of the
harbour was never attempted,

it seems the defensive
presence of the fort

was enough to deter the enemy.

It was the same reason
why the fort was built in 1552

and then at the end of
the great siege of 1565.

So, the role of the fort
remained important and relevant

and very strategic until
the second world war.

Finally decommissioned
in 1972 for over 400 years

the old fort had kept
the harbour safe.

Around 15,000
buildings were destroyed

by the bombing of Malta.

And tragically more
than 1500 lives were lost.

If you look at a Maltese flag
you'll see a George cross,

the highest medal
that the British empire

gives to civilians

and that medal was awarded

to the entire
population of Malta

for standing up under relentless
German and Italian bombardment

throughout the second world war.

In the north west of Alaska
lies an industrial wreck

trapped in a frozen landscape.

For people who weren't
indigenous this is a harsh landscape,

it's bitter cold, there's snow,
there's, there's frost, there's ice.

In stark contrast to it's
desolate surroundings

stands an engineering giant.

It's hard to say what
it is at first glance.

It looks kind of like a
building or a warehouse

but then it's got
something that looks

kind of like a crane
off of one end.

So, you've got this mad
giant steam punk set up,

you've got all sorts
of things going on.

The first question you have
when you look at something

like this is who built this?

Who brought this
massive piece of equipment

in to the middle of nowhere,

they must have been after
something of extraordinary value

to go this absurd effort.

Rising from the flat and
seemingly endless tundra,

this industrial monument
can be seen for miles.

As you approach you see
the top, the frame peaking out,

you see rusting metal,
it's a skeletal structure

that you wonder

whether it's meant to help
extract something from the earth.

Bob hafner worked on
this contraption for 25 years

and still remembers the
first time he laid eyes on it.

So, the first time
I'd seen one of those

I came here working
for the airlines

and we were flying over the
tundra and it was just bare tundra

for miles and then we
came over the top of a hill

and seen what looked
like a small village.

And everything sitting there

and I asked the pilot,
I said what is that?

He said a dredge camp.

This is dredge number five,

a modern solution to a
centuries old problem.

How to pull gold
out of the ground.

It's found less than five
miles outside the city of nome,

once a lawless frontier town

and site of the last great
north American goldrush.

This is nome, Alaska,

a city that sprang up
out of almost nothing

practically overnight
for one reason, gold.

In September 1898 they
discovered gold in this area,

suddenly gold prospectors
came in from Europe,

from the rest of the america,
from the San Francisco,

from Seattle

and even from as
far away as Australia.

Just getting to nome was
an adventure of a lifetime.

From Seattle it was either a
treacherous two week boat ride

or an even longer land journey.

Finding the gold when
you had arrived though

was surprisingly simple.

Here in nome, a few
prospectors realised

they could literally
find gold on the beach.

The very fact that the gold
was found on a beach here,

that information
flew around the world

yeah because if anyone was
looking for gold it's hard work

and you have to
stake your claim.

But on a beach there are no
claims, it's every man for himself.

Within just a few months
this little village of nome

had turned in to a
city of 20,000 people.

This new city was a
wild and boisterous place.

It had it's bars, it had it's
clubs, it had it's brothels.

This was a rough
tough frontier town.

Alaska still was a
territory, it wasn't a state

so there wasn't
much law up here.

Eventually they sent in a,
a contingency of the army

er, to try to keep rule,
it's a lot of claim jumping,

a lot of back stabbing

you know, gold especially
when you get hungry

can turn men into something
we don't want to admit we are.

At the turn of the 20th
century searching for gold here

was mostly a very
basic manual process.

Had simple means what's
called a rocker and a, a...

A bucket that they would
flow water over the top

and put some dirt in there
and shake it back and forth

while they add a
little bit of water to it.

It teaches you Patience.

Tolerance of this painstaking
method did not last long.

Prospectors and engineers

soon began looking for more
efficient ways to extract the gold.

As the easy pickings got taken,

bigger companies
started moving in...

With serious
investment in machinery.

It takes on a more
industrial scale

that becomes a
different beast really,

a more rationalised
way of extracting

the resources from the land.

Dredge number five built in
1941 was a new breed of machine

that revolutionised
the hunt for gold,

it could dig deeper,

faster and longer than any
human with a pick and shovel.

On the front of the dredge
here you can see the bucket line

which is a lot like a chainsaw,

it has a series of
buckets linked together

and rotates in a big circle
driven by a motor on the dredge

and it picks up the
material from the pit.

But it did more than simply
dig, it was a factory too.

Inside the dredge larger
rocks were filtered out

before the gold was then
separated from this finer mixture

by running water
through a sluice box.

A lot of fine gold
would wash out

which was what we really
have around nome here,

it's mostly a real
fine gold erm,

like salt pepper shaker
kind of size pieces.

If you can move enough
material every day

it could be worth investing
a huge amount of money

in building a dredge like this.

But there was only so
much gold in one place.

The dredge needed
access to untapped ground.

What's amazing about these
dredges and if you haven't seen one

I think this is the
incredible thing,

is that they move.

There's no way you could put
big enough wheels on this thing

to roll across this
rugged terrain.

But if you can dig a pond
then you can float the dredge

and then you can keep
expanding your pond

as you move forward.

But the frozen ground surrounding
the dredge was a major obstacle.

Thawing it involved the
construction of huge ditch lines

that bought water in
from 70 miles away

and once afloat moving the
dredge was still a complex procedure.

What we have on the sides here,

what you're looking
at is the winchlines

that are there to pull
the boat back and forth,

there's a series of winches
that one pulls forward,

two pull sideways like this.

Incredibly this mechanical
beast actually walked.

And what it has on the
back that you can't really see

from this angle are two spuds.

One spud would drop
down and lift the other one up

and so it would alternate and
walk, the dredge would walk forward.

Shuffling this giant
structure even a few metres

was a huge amount of work.

But all this effort was worth
it when gold was struck.

There's nothing more satisfying

when you get that
first bit of gold and...

And it's in your hands and
you're looking at it and this is yours

and you can take that
almost anywhere in the world

and use that for money.

Despite it's decades of success,
the profitable years would not last.

Often the price of the thing
that you're mining is going down,

there are people
mining all over the world,

the supply is increasing,

you're not getting as
much out of the ground

that's not a great combination.

It extracted millions
of dollars of gold

from the ground here

and the town of
nome has survived

and thrived over the
years because of it.

Shutdown in 1996,

dredge number five now
lies as a silent reminder

of a golden age.

For people like Bob it's
not just the hunt for gold

that keeps them here,

it's something that
runs a little deeper.

I love nome, I love the
region, I love the people.

So, I've, I don't really plan
on retiring anywhere else,

if I made my million I'd spend
it here at the grocery store.

On the island of jeju off the
southern tip of South Korea

is an area littered
with strange features.

They look almost natural in the
way they're kind of carpeted in grass

but they're too symmetrical

and they're laid out in
some kind of a pattern.

You can see one after another

more than a dozen
of these structures

which are not
part of the terrain.

These unusual forms
however are not alone.

Looking along the coast we
see these evenly spaced caves,

dug in to the rock of the
island and sort of disappearing

in to the island out of sight.

Very symmetrical, all sort
of the same size openings

so they don't look
like natural caves.

These cave structures
are all over the island,

this shoreline is
honeycombed with these caves.

Forgotten for years,

only recently has the full
picture been pieced together.

You start to see
that this whole island

might be hiding something.

These strange little
helices on the plateau,

these strange caves
along the coast,

they all tie together
in the same story.

The first clue to
what happened here

is found within these
small grass covered mounds

that date back to
the second world war.

If we look at the actual
opening in to these hills

it's shaped like an aircraft

with a cut out for the
fuselage and for the wing span

so basically these are hangars.

Local resident Lee yun-heong
has scoured this land for clues

relating to the site's past life

when Korea was under
Japanese occupation.

Lee translation: "There
were fighter planes

"in this hangar like zero...

"Fighters or naval bombers.

"A total of 36 hangars
were built on this airfield."

While today the
surviving 20 hangars

are the most prominent
reminders of this time,

hidden all around
are other ruins.

"There is an airfield runway,
an underground bunker,

"anti aircraft bunkers
and many other facilities

"within a 1 kilometre
radius of the airfield.

"Such a concentration
of military facilities

"like this is hard to
find anywhere else."

These are the remains
of alddreu airfield,

a key part of Japan's
operation seven defences.

Translation: "Number
one to number six

"were operational
areas in mainland Japan.

"However only jeju island
was included in number seven.

Most of what we're
seeing here is infrastructure

from late in the second world
war when Japan shifts it's focus

to defending the Japanese
home islands from allied invasion.

Translation: "Jeju was the
only place outside of Japan

"that was included in the
mainland's final defensive plans.

"That shows how much Japan
valued the defence of jeju island."

From the moment the
occupation of Korea began in 1910

Japan had ruled
with an iron fist.

For those living
in the south of jeju

the regimes brutal
approach was felt

with the establishment
of this airfield.

Translation: "The first phase
of the airfields construction

"began in 1926.

"There were six
villages here in jeju-do

"and the residents from
each of those villages

"were evicted to make
space for this airfield."

Japans treatment
of the locals on jeju

was like their
treatment of the locals

everywhere they occupied.

It was absolutely brutal,

they would force all
the men into slave labour

and the women of jeju
were forced in to prostitution.

The famous comfort women that
the Japanese military demanded

to take care of their soldiers.

So, when the Japanese
armed forces decide

that they need to use
this area for an airfield,

they shave it flat

and they do that not by
using industrial machinery

which is in short supply but
by using korean forced labour.

Translation: "There
were hills all over,

"however many residents of jeju

"were called up for forced labour
to flatten the landscape here.

"The workers lived around here
and did not have much to eat,

"there was a lot of hunger

"and there were many
casualties in the process."

Japan held little regard
for the locals wellbeing,

their focus was firmly fixed

on exploiting this
islands potential,

a potential that explains
why jeju became so important

to their later defensive plans.

If you look at jeju
island on a map

it's just in an unbelievably
strategic location,

it's right smack in the
middle of the east China sea

between Japan
and mainland China.

If you wanted to build a base
that would allow you to dominate

that whole region this
is where you'd put it.

In the 1930s Japan
was on the front foot

and looking to expand,

as they did with the invasion of
China in the sino-Japanese war.

When Japan goes to war with
China they need forward air bases,

this is an ideal spot

because it takes
you part way to China

so that targets in manchuria

are bought within the
range of Japanese air power.

But a few years later

when Japan was losing
ground in the second world war

the role of the island
was flipped on it's head.

Translation: "The airfield
was originally built by Japan

"because of the sites
geographical importance.

"That's why Japan's strategy
was to think of jeju island

"as an important defensive base
for the Japanese mainland battles

"and to devise and prepare
for the mainland show down."

It's envisioned more and more
as a sort of iwo jima type place

where the Japanese
will mass ground troops

to fight a last stand
against the Americans

who will be forced to attack it
because of it's strategic location.

In January 1944

there were just 300 Japanese
troops stationed on jeju

but that number was
about to sky rocket.

By mid 1945 there are 70,000
Japanese troops on the island,

a third of the, the total
number of Japanese troops

on the whole korean peninsula.

The Japanese defence concept

was that the invader
might land on the island

but that the island might then
become a living hell for them.

Once again the local population

was forced to carry
out back breaking work

as a new network of defences
and subterranean bases

were carved out of the island.

Translation: "This is a
large underground bunker

"built by the Japanese.

"It was big enough for
vehicles to pass through,

"there were
important facilities here

"including the command
headquarters of the airfield

"and a torpedo
storage facility."

This single underground facility
stretches on into the darkness

for 3 quarters of a mile.

But it was just a fraction of
the true extent of the defences

hidden beneath the surface.

Translation: "In
jeju there are about

"700 underground tunnels

"dug by the Japanese
during the pacific war."

As the so called operation
seven got underway

the foremost defensive tunnels

were cut right in
to the island's cliffs

and they harboured
a deadly weapon.

They begin carving out these
caves for these mini submarines

that will launch under sea kamikaze
attacks against American warships.

Translation: "These bases
were used to station boats

"loaded with over 500
pounds of explosives,

"they would be
driven by a soldier

"and used as a suicide bomber
boat against the us ships."

The idea that somebody
might give his life

in order to sink an
American destroyer

using himself as
part of a weapon,

that idea was
genuinely disturbing

to Americans and very effective

both as a propaganda
tool and as a military reality.

In the last years of the war,

it's estimated that over
7,000 naval personnel

were killed by aerial or
seaborne kamikaze attacks.

It was a devastating tactic
but it came at a huge price.

And it may help explain

why so many of these
military positions here

are still intact.

In a way though all
these kamikaze missions

might have backfired
on the Japanese,

it convinced the Americans

that the Japanese military
would never surrender,

that they would
fight to the last man.

Taking the Japanese
home islands to end the war

would have killed millions.

Using atomic bombs to
end the war killed thousands.

The choice wasn't easy
but the choice was clear.

The allied invasion
of jeju at the beginning

of the allied invasion of Japan,
that carnage was avoided.

What remains on jeju are
some of the best examples

of Japanese pacific war
infrastructure still in existence.

And now these remnants
from that brutal occupation

have a far greater purpose.

Translation: "I hope
people around the world

"will recognise these facilities

"as places to reflect on that
original war of aggression.

"The violation of the human
rights of those enslaved

"and the importance of peace."

Off the coast of sardinia is
an 11 mile long slither of land.

A haven for nature and wildlife.

This island is a bit of a
paradise, the lush vegetation,

the waters it's not surprise
that it's a national park.

When you first come on the scene

this looks like an idyllic
mediterranean island

with little rocky
outcrops and olive trees.

Yet beyond this pastoral beauty

lies a series of
abandoned buildings,

although virtually
uninhabited by man today,

they suggest the island once
housed a significant population.

One particular building
looks like it might almost be...

A monastery or
religious retreat.

It's very inward facing but
then you see the barbed wire,

you see the guard towers,
inside you see the locked doors,

you realise this
is no monastery.

Eight miles away at the
northern end of the island

is a second structure with
strange design features.

The closer you look you realise

that this wasn't
just any old prison,

you have these huge high
walls, the guard towers,

the spotlights and
just one tiny hatch

for an entrance.

Within it's outer walls
the mystery deepens.

There are hardly any windows
or openings to speak of...

And from above you can see
there's a secondary inner structure,

almost a prison
within the prison.

Whoever was held here
was dangerous indeed.

So, how are these
two sites linked

and who was locked up at
the heart of this complex?

On the southern
end of the island,

a large rectangular building

is ominously surrounded
by search lights,

metal bars and
smashed guard huts.

Today access inside
is strictly forbidden

but former prison
guard gianmaria deriv

remembers what life was
like for those on the inside.

Gianmaria translation:
"Less freedoms, less space,

"the procedures
are really strict.

"So, they can't leave
the building at all,

"everything takes place inside."

This is forneli prison,

a maximum security facility
where guards like gianmaria

could keep inmates
on a tight leash.

Translation: "Bringing them
to an island on an island

"we could say it was like
cutting the umbilical cord."

Separated from the mainland
by 180 miles of open sea,

the Italian government

saw the potential for this
site as a place to lock up

Italy's most
dangerous criminals.

Translation: "Originally it
was a judiciary sanitorium

"and tuberculosis hospital

"but then with the emergence
of red and black terrorism in Italy

"the government
decided to turn this facility

"in to a supermax prison."

Extreme left wing groups
known as red terrorists

were leading a wave of violence
across Italy in the late 1970s.

Revolutionaries attempting
to overthrow the capitalist state

and force Italy's
withdrawal from NATO,

the north Atlantic
treaty organisation.

They had home
grown ultra left wing

terrorist groups
like the red brigades,

they were literally going
to war against the country

and against the government.

In 1978,

they even assassinated
former Italian prime minister

Aldo moral...

As members of the organisation
were rounded up in response

the government
increasingly turned

to the isolated
island of asinara

and used fornelli as
a dumping ground.

They sent so many
members of the red brigade

to the fornelli prison

that it became a
huge focus of the group

to get those people released.

September 1979,

a clash broke out on
the streets of Rome.

There was a huge shootout
between red brigade forces

and the authorities

and when one of them
was captured he had on him

this whole elaborate
plan for a mass escape

from the fornelli prison,

they were going to
smuggle in machine guns,

they were gonna
have motor boats,

they were going to
overwhelm the prison

and get all these prisoners out.

The plan had been scuppered
but members of the brigade

inside fornelli took matters
in to their own hands.

Rioters destroyed cells

and smashed
sections of the building.

Translation: "They had packed
their stove top coffee machines

"with explosives and plastic.

"They had managed
to create real bombs."

Riot police on horseback
surround the maximum security wing.

Translation: "There
were tense moments

"but you weren't
supposed to show fear."

Tear gas was launched in
to the heart of the uprising.

Translation: "The red
brigade attempted a rebellion

"and then tried to leave
the facility but they failed,

"they surrendered at about 3am."

The riot was quashed but
soon after without warning

the authorities transferred
all the terrorists off the island.

They began replacing them

with Italy's new public
enemy number 1,

mafia bosses.

But to handle them they were
going to need a new facility.

Enrico translation:
"At the end of the day

"we were selected.

"500 guards were chosen
because of this situation."

Enrico mereu was selected as head
guard of a new specialised facility.

Look out towers
stood at each corner

while walkways around the
perimeter left no area out of sight.

But at the centre
of the facility

was one particularly
strange feature.

A new area was added
to the design, the bunker,

built with reinforced concrete
and surrounded with barbed wire.

The bunker was a singular
prison within a prison,

a tiny villa built
within high stone walls

and only one small entrance.

It was designed to
house just one man.

That's where the top mafia
boss or bosses were sent,

where they could really be isolated,
you could keep an eye on them,

you could also protect
them from being executed

by other forces or poisoned.

The bunker was
reserved for the top dog,

the last great
sicilian mafia chief,

Salvatore riina who was the
head of the corleonesi clan.

He came from corleone in sicily

and that is famously associated
with the godfather trilogy.

Riina had gone to
war with the state,

targeting top officials

and organising
terrorist style bombings.

As the government fought back
just as it had with the red terrorists

this island became it's
main prison for mobsters.

Riina was given
26 life sentences

for the murder of
hundreds of individuals.

Two of riina's victims
enrico had known personally.

Translation: "It was an
awful experience for me,

"I found myself here with riina,

"the instigator of
those murders."

Riina's influence was such
that even within prison walls

he could wield great power.

For a lot of Americans whose
idea about the mafia comes from

you know, the godfather
movies and things like that

it's hard to appreciate just
how powerful the mafia was...

Up until really
quite recent times,

it was almost like a
shadow government.

The surrounding area
was patrolled by 100 agents,

boats crisscrossed
the sea day and night,

threats from the sky
were monitored with radar.

Controls within the bunker
had to be equally water tight.

Translation: "So, every time
we entered or left the bunker

"we had to search each other.

"In fact there were no
friends allowed here."

Even his food was bought
to him in a special briefcase

to avoid attempts at poisoning.

We always hear a lot about codes
of honour among the mafia types

but history shows that
provided with the right incentives

they'll turn on each
other in a heartbeat.

Protocols were designed
to prevent corrupt guards

carrying out assassinations
on behalf of rival mafiosi

looking to take riina's crown.

Translation: "We couldn't
carry cell phones or paperwork

"that might endanger you
by revealing your identity.

"We couldn't talk or mention
names of wives or daughters.

"Nothing at all.

"We talked only
about the service,

"that was it."

Prison is brutalising for
everyone, these prisons were,

were terrible places
for the prisoners

but also for the guards who
were in fear for their lives

and so isolated, so far
away from normal civilisation,

it had to have been a
very rugged existence.

The real need for
this extreme isolation

was not about preventing escape
but getting them to turn informer.

They isolated them so thoroughly
that the idea was they would realise

wait if I'm facing 20 years

where I can't talk to
any of my associates,

I can't do any of
my former business,

I might as well become an
informant and maybe get out earlier.

Yet riina never turned.

Enrico hand delivered his
dinner in an armoured briefcase

every day for 4 years.

Until the prison was
closed down in 1997.

By the late 90s
the tide of violence

from first the red brigades
and then the mafia

was receding and law enforcement
was getting the upper hand

and they realised they didn't
need this kind of ultra security

er, prison to the same degree.

The so called beast lived out
his days in a different prison

in solitary confinement.

At the time of his death in 2017

some claimed that tota
riina was still operating

as the head of sicilian mafia.

Today, asinara
is a national park,

home to the rare albino donkeys
that gave the island it's name.

The dilapidated
prison structures

are preserved as relics
of a very different time.

One that is thankfully
consigned to the past.

Captioned by
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