VIDEO + PHOTO | A village with eight hundred-year-olds in Sardinia: Have they discovered the secret of long life?

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PHOTO: EPA / ANSA

Birthday candles are a must-have in the remote Italian mountain village of Perdasdefogo on the island of Sardinia. This year alone, 500 candles have been used to decorate birthday cakes for five residents who have turned 100 years old, reports The Guardian.

The whole village usually participates in the celebration of a lifetime

Mayor Mariano Carta symbolically awarded a medal to the centenarian, who, with exceptional lucidity, often remembered details of his life.

"Whenever a resident celebrates his jubilee, 100th birthday, it seems to me that in front of me is a part of history, a living monument."says Carta. He adds that people "Here they tell small stories intertwined with a bigger story. I am very happy", proudly stated Map.

Part of the history of this place is reflected in 16 photographs of centenarians, alive or dead, found on the walls on both sides of the main city street. The photos show Vittorio Palmas, a survivor of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during World War II and who died in 2019 at the age of 105.

 

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There is also a mural dedicated to the longest-lived citizen ever - Console Melis, who died in 2015 at the age of 108. The console was the oldest in a family of nine siblings who became famous in 2012 when they entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest family of living siblings on the planet with a total of 818 years.

Her sister, Claudina, died in 2016 at the age of 103, followed by Maria, who died at the age of 100, and Antonio at the age of 97. Another member of the family is Concepcion, who turned 100 in February.

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PHOTO: EPA / STR

But longevity is not limited to the Melissa family

Perdasdefogo currently has eight centenarians - four men and four women out of a total population of 1.740. Ten more citizens could turn 100 in the next few years. Perdasdefogu is unique in that the number of centenarians in the city is 13 times higher than the national average.

"Of course there is fresh air, good food, but I believe one of the reasons for their longevity is their attitude to stress.", says Luisa Salaris, professor of demography at the University of Cagliari.

"They were born 100 years ago and did not have an easy life - there was famine and war. "But these are people who have managed to adapt to all the troubles - if there is a problem, they solve it quickly.", adds Salaris.

It was not long after Adolfo Melis served a drink at the bar his father opened in 1958. Sitting on a bench in the square next to the bar, Adolf's eyes light up, writes the Guardian, as he remembers the story and the laughter around the table with the many brothers and sisters.

"At that time, the dining table was a little longer." he says. "We all got along well, there were rarely discussions - maybe that's one of the reasons we live so long."

Adolfo, who worked on farms for many years in his youth, is convinced that the main reason for their longevity is nutrition

There was little food - a year before the console was born, there were protests in Perdasdefogu against food shortages - but their father was the first in town to plant a vegetable garden.

Before Perdasdefogu was connected to the water supply network in the early 1960s, garden water had to be brought from a well. "Everything we ate was from our garden", says Adolfo. "What you put in your stomach is very important."

Lots of meat is used in the local diet, as well as fish (the sea is about an hour's drive), but the trick is "To eat small but healthy food", he points out. He adds that his family has always been physically active, especially in agriculture. But they were also business people. "Three of my sisters owned shops and worked in shops."

Although the population of Perdasdefogu is predominantly older, this does not mean that the settlement is not alive.

Several cultural events are held throughout the year, including a literary festival. Locals believe that books also have an impact on the longevity of residents.

Next to the photo of Vittorio Palmas holding a copy of the book "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Markel, there was an inscription that read: "Reading keeps you alive."

The literary festival was organized by Giacomo Mameli, a distant cousin of the Melis brothers and sisters, who still worked as a journalist at the age of 80.

"The conditions of our environment play a key role," Mameli said

Another important factor, they say, is that Perdasdefogu has a sense of community. The elderly still live at home, not in nursing homes. "Socialization is so important because if you have good social contacts, you remember, talk, share opinions and live well."

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