Italy’s oldest man Tripoli Giannini, who said his longevity was due to “light food and lack of stress”, has died at the age of 111, writes The Guardian.

Tripoli Giannini, nicknamed Tripolino, died at his home in Cecina, near Livorno, in Tuscany, on New Year’s Eve. He was the second oldest man in Europe after Andre Ludwig, a Frenchman, 75 days older.

Giannini’s son Romano wrote on Facebook: “He thought he was immortal… instead at 9:30 am on San Silvestro (New Year’s Eve) my father Tripoli Giannini died. He was 111 years and 133 days old – a record! He joins his wife Tosca, my mother, who has waited for him for over 40 years.”

Giannini was one of Italy’s long-timers. According to Istat, the national statistics agency, there were 22,000 people over the age of 100 in 2023, the highest number on record. The majority of Italian long-livers are women.

Giannini, who was part of the infantry corps of the Italian army, was born in Cecina in 1912 and lived through two world wars and two pandemics. While celebrating his 111th birthday in August, he said the secret to his longevity was light food (always accompanied by wine), no stress, no smoking and taking each day as a gift.

The Italian island of Sardinia has been identified as one of five regions in the world with a high concentration of elderly people, while the Italian city with the highest number of people over 100 is Genoa in Liguria.

The Mediterranean diet has long been considered the main component of longevity in Italians.

However, the country’s aging population is a challenge for Prime Minister Georgia Maloney’s government, especially as it coincides with a declining birthrate, which is putting pressure on the pension and health care systems.

According to Istat, the number of births in Italy will hit a record low of 393,000 in 2022. In December, Maloni said that reducing the birth rate was one of his government’s priorities for 2024, with a budget of 2.5 billion to tackle the problem euro. (Source: News.ro / Photo: Dreamstime.com)