THIS VINEYARD IN TUSCANY DOUBLES UP AS AN ITALIAN PRISON
Low Lai ChowCONTRIBUTOR
by Low Lai Chow in Cool Travel on Saturday 26 July 2014
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We never knew this before, but it makes sense: a penal colony located on the island of Gorgona in the Tuscan Archipelago, is home to 50 or so detainees who work on a vineyard owned by one of Italy’s oldest winemaking families, Frescobaldi. There they produce Gorgona, a white wine blend of vermentino and ansonica grapes. It is all part of a rehabilitation program that prepares the inmates with life skills after their release. It seems to work too: on average, 8 out of 10 released inmates relapse back to a life of crime, but the ratio drops to 2 in 10 when the inmates have access to education, training or a job while doing time.