Denise Jacobs

Sardinia attracts over six million holidaymakers to the island every year, and tourism has long been one of the most important economic sectors. But the island location is both a curse and a blessing: attractive for tourism, it inhibits Sardinia's economic development. In search of future prospects, young people in particular are leaving their homeland to work on the Italian mainland or abroad. Sardinia's society is getting older and older. How old is a unique selling point in the whole of Europe. Because many Sardinians who live on the east coast live to be over 100 years old.

At the beginning of the 1980s, a group of Germans ventured into a social experiment: in the remote hills of Umbria, they founded a self-sufficient community beyond consumerism and bland gainful employment. After 40 years, the rural commune still exists. Not all the plans have come to fruition over the years. How are the dropouts doing today?