Maria Oliva, known to her family as "Nonna Marietta", turned 111 on 16 April 2020 in Sicily, at a time when Italy was one of the countries hit hardest by the first wave of COVID-19. She was then the second-oldest woman in Italy, and Italian media hailed her as a "super grandma": a woman born in 1909 who had already lived through the 1918 flu pandemic and two world wars, celebrating quietly at home while the country was in lockdown.
Headlines at the time spoke of her "beating" the coronavirus. There is no report that she ever caught it. What she did was outlive another pandemic, and go on to reach 112. Here is her story, the century of history she witnessed, and what science can and cannot tell us about living that long.
Who was Maria Oliva?
Maria Oliva was born on 16 April 1909 in Sicily and lived there all her life. By her 111th birthday she was living with one of her daughters and a grandchild, and local reports described her as in good health for her age.
She celebrated with a cake and candles at home rather than a crowded family party, since Italy's strict lockdown was still in force. According to Italian press reports, she marked the day by singing "Ciuri ciuri", a cheerful Sicilian folk song about flowers that is a staple of island celebrations.
At the time, the only Italian woman older than her was Erminia Bianchini, born on 23 April 1908, who was about to turn 112. Bianchini died in June 2020, and Maria Oliva lived on until 27 August 2021, dying at 112 years and 133 days.
A birthday in the middle of a pandemic
Spring 2020 was a frightening time in Italy. By mid-April the country had recorded more than 22,000 deaths from COVID-19, and older people were by far the most affected, although some, like a 97-year-old Italian grandmother, did recover. Many families could not visit grandparents, and care homes were closed to visitors. Even milestones had to be marked in strange places, as one elderly couple who celebrated their 50th anniversary in hospital found.
That is why a smiling 111-year-old blowing out candles struck such a chord. She became a small symbol of endurance for a country that badly needed one. Asked about her long life, she reportedly credited the green vegetables her parents grew in their own garden when she was a child.
Her great-grandson, Danny Catalano, posted a long birthday tribute that Italian outlets reprinted. In it he listed the events she had lived through and called her an open book, writing that she was still making history in the age of the coronavirus.
The century she lived through
Catalano's message was essentially a timeline of modern Italy, and it is worth unpacking, because few people alive have seen so much of it:
- The monarchy. She was born under King Victor Emmanuel III, when Italy was still a kingdom.
- The First World War. Italy entered the war in 1915, when she was six.
- The 1918 flu. The so-called Spanish flu infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide between 1918 and 1920. Most estimates put the death toll at 25 to 50 million, with some as low as 17 million and some as high as 100 million.
- Fascism and dictatorship. Mussolini came to power in 1922 and ruled for two decades.
- The Second World War. Sicily itself became a battlefield when the Allies landed there in July 1943.
- The birth of the Republic. On 2 June 1946 Italians voted 54.3% to 45.7% to abolish the monarchy. It was the first national vote in which Italian women could take part, so Maria, then 37, was among the first generation of Italian women to cast a ballot.
- The Constitution, the economic boom and the technology age. She saw Italy rebuild, industrialise and connect to the world, and, according to her family, she once shook hands with a pope.
How rare is it to reach 111?
People who live past 110 are called supercentenarians, and they are extraordinarily rare. Italy keeps careful civil records, which is one reason it has a well-documented list of them, but even there only a small number of people reach that age in any given year. The vast majority are women.
Validated ages matter. Researchers who study extreme longevity check birth, baptism and census records, because family memory and old paperwork can be wrong. Maria Oliva's age is recorded among Italy's validated supercentenarians.
What science says about living that long
It is tempting to take a single centenarian's tip, such as "eat your greens", as a recipe. The research is more modest. Extreme longevity seems to depend heavily on genes and luck, while lifestyle mostly helps people stay healthier for longer.
Italy is home to one of the famous "blue zones": the mountain villages of Nuoro province in Sardinia, where unusually many men reach 100. Studies of these areas point to daily physical activity, strong family and community ties, low stress and a largely plant-based diet. Critics note that some longevity claims rest on unverified ages and that there are no controlled studies proving these habits explain the effect.
The US National Institute on Aging's general advice is less exotic and better supported: stay active every day, eat plenty of vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats, don't smoke, sleep well and keep in touch with people. Interestingly, research has linked green leafy vegetables with slower cognitive decline, which fits Nonna Marietta's own explanation rather nicely.
Why her story still resonates
Maria Oliva's 111th birthday did not prove that anyone can beat a virus through willpower, and it was never meant to. What it showed was continuity: a woman who had seen one pandemic as a child, lived through war and dictatorship, voted in Italy's first free referendum, and was still singing a Sicilian song at home while her country waited out another crisis.
If you have an elderly relative, her story is also a gentle reminder to ask about their memories while you can. The history Danny Catalano listed in his tribute is the kind no textbook can tell as well as someone who lived it.
Sources: List of Italian supercentenarians (Wikipedia); Spanish flu (Wikipedia); 1946 Italian institutional referendum (Wikipedia); Blue Zone (Wikipedia); National Institute on Aging, What do we know about healthy aging?; photos and original report via news247.gr.
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