A quick boat ride from Marina di Campo in Elba Island will bring you away from the summer's crowds straight to Pianosa Island.

Once the location of a maximum-security prison holding particularly dangerous mafiosi, it is now a marine protected area. Just like any paradise however, only few are allowed entrance. 100 people are permitted daily in scheduled tours or with pre-requested permits to preserve the island's ecosystem.

Only in a piccolo paradiso like this one would the ex-convicts decide to remain when their time was up – Giuseppe, our barista, happened to be one of them!