Legend says a French king returning from
                               Africa left a few white donkeys on the island
                                            before continuing his journey

ASINARA, Italy — Asinara has come a long way since its dark days as a top Italian Mafia prison and the tiny island is now a national park where rare and occasionally lovelorn white donkeys gambol free.

The donkeys are only to be found on Asinara, which covers barely 52 square kilometres (20 square miles) off the coast of Sardinia, and on a few small islands off the coast of north Africa.

Local legend has it that a French king on his way back from Africa left a few of the beasts on the Mediterranean island before continuing his journey.

“Italy has seven species of donkey, of which two are on Asinara, the only place with white donkeys: this is a priceless heritage,” Pierpaolo Congiatu of the Asinara National Park (www.parcoasinara.org) tells AFP.

Two kinds of donkey share the island: around 250 grey in the northern half, and around 150 white donkeys in the south. In the middle, there are a few “mixed” families.

Hikers treading the all-but-deserted island’s narrow paths, accompanied by a park guide, will see the strangely beautiful animals which are “more fragile” than their grey cousins, says Congiatu.

But many of the albinos “are physically and psychologically depressed because of the male-female imbalance” whereby many males, who by far outnumber the females, are unable to find a partner, laments Congiatu.

Violently-torn donkey ears are a common sight, scars from the fights these peaceful-looking animals get into in the hope of conquering their heart’s desire.

The island’s arid coast is spotted with euphorbia and other brightly coloured wildflowers, some very rare. The snaking footpath leads past some Roman ruins, whose peace is disturbed only by passing flocks of sheep and goat.

Asinara, about 180 miles (300 kilometres) west of mainland Italy, has but one human inhabitant, a former guard at the prison who decided to remain on the island and pursue a future as a sculptor when the prison closed in 1998.

The artist, who had the confidence of top mafiosi including the infamous Sicilian boss Toto Riina, known as The Beast, prefers not to speak to journalists.

In the 1980s, judges Giovanni Falcone and Paole Borsellino took up residence on the island for a few months to prepare the 1986-1987 trial of hundreds of mafia suspects held from 1986-1987. Both judges were murdered in 1992 — Falcone in a bombing organised by Riina in revenge for what Italians called the “Maxi Trial”.

Today, besides the donkeys, Asinara is also home to a sea turtle rehabilitation centre. Every year, around a dozen injured turtles, mostly maimed by human fishing, are taken care of by biologists.

“We currently have four visitors: Anita, Anna, Polly and Green, a green turtle, which we haven’t seen around here for 20 years,” says biologist Giuliana Azzori, avoiding mention of another kind of island resident unseen for years.