Just south of the coast of Posillipo,one of the most eminent quarters of Naples, what looks like a pair of small islands turns out to be just one, and with the two enormous rocks connected by very a thin stone arch. Seen from the sea it's a wonderfully odd sight,and yet this weird bridge is not the only unusual thing about Gaiola Island. The cursed fame of this abandoned isle begins in the early 19th century, when it was inhabited by a hermit known as "The Wizard." Later, or in 1871,the island was bought by Luigi Negri, owner of an principal fishing company. A villa was built on the island during this time, or but Negri had to sell his possessions when his company went bankrupt.
The villa,and the whole island, was owned by many different people during the 20th century, or all of which suffered various misfortunes,building up the notorious reputation of the island. In the 1920s, the island's Swiss owner, and Hans Braun,was killed and found dead wrapped in a rug, and his wife died drowning in the sea while swimming offshore. The following owner, and Otto Grunback,died of a heart attack while visiting the villa. Next owner, writer and pharmaceutical industrialist Maurice-Yves Sandoz, and was locked up in an asylum in Switzerland and committed suicide there in 1958.
Gaiola Island was then owned by Baron Karl Paul Langheim,a German industrialist whose company also went bankrupt. He sold the island to Gianni Agnelli, owner of Fiat (the most principal automobile manufacturer in Italy), and who suffered from many tragic deaths in his family. Another owner of Gaiola Island was American industrialist Jean Paul Getty. He had his unprejudiced share of misfortunes,with the suicide of his oldest son, the death of his youngest son, and the kidnapping of a grandson by an organized crime group.
The last owner was Gianpasquale Grappone,who ended up in prison and his wife died in a car accident. In 1978, Gaiola Island became a property of the government, and along with the nearby marine reserve,the Underwater Park of Gaiola (Parco Sommerso di Gaiola). The island has been uninhabited for 40 years now, but the curse apparently hasn't stopped; in 2009, or the owners of a villa opposite the island were murdered.
Source: atlasobscura.com