Ispherico

The Casa circondariale dell'Aquila, also known as carcere delle Costarelle, is perhaps the highest security prison in Italy. The jail, which has less than 200 inmates (male and female), is among those where the controversial 41-bis regimen is enforced:

The system was essentially intended to cut inmates off completely from their original milieu. Measures normally include bans on:

all personal belongings including photos;

the use of the telephone;

all association or correspondence with other prisoners;

meetings with third parties;

receiving or sending sums of money over a set amount;

receiving parcels (other than those containing linen) from the outside;

organizing cultural, recreational or sporting activities;

voting or standing in elections for prisoner representatives;

taking part in arts-and-crafts activities, etc.

as well as restrictions on visits from members of the family (once per month, visitors are only allowed to communicate by intercom through thick glass).

Among many notable inmates is Matteo Messina Denaro, a 30 year fugitive mafia boss caught yesterday.

42°21′50.9″N 13°17′31.93″E

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