Italy's oldest man dies at 112

Italy's oldest man dies at 112

(ANSA) - ROME, 16 SET - Italy's oldest man has died at the age of 112. A shepherd, muleteer, and farmer, Vitantonio Lovallo—known to everyone as "Zitòn"- lived through more than a century of history without ever severing the bond with his land in southern Italy. He lived in Sarnelli, a small hamlet of Avigliano in the province of Potenza, and had celebrated his last birthday on March 25th. His life began in 1914 and was spent largely in the fields; Lovallo started working the land at age 16 to help his family, and that passion never left him—he only stopped working six years ago, when he was already over a hundred years old. In between, he lived through the most dramatic events of the 20th century. After working as a shepherd and muleteer, he was conscripted during World War II, captured by German soldiers, and deported to the island of Rhodes, where he remained a prisoner until November 27, 1943. He recorded these experiences in his writings, which he has now bequeathed to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren as a record of the war and his time at the front. He married in 1936 and had four children. His status as Italy's oldest man had been internationally validated; LongeviQuest ranked him 45th on its global list of living individuals, at 112 years and 170 days old. Officially, he was born on March 28, 1914, although his family always maintained that his birth date was March 25. This three-day discrepancy stemmed from the challenges of the time: registering a birth required traveling to the municipality of Avigliano—located some twenty kilometers from Sarnelli—by crossing Mount Carmine. "It is with deep emotion that I bid farewell to Vitantonio Lovallo—our dear 'Zitòn'—who, at 112 years of age, stood as a living and precious repository of our community's memory," Avigliano Mayor Giuseppe Mecca told ANSA, recalling "his simplicity, his strength, and his love for his family and his homeland." Condolences were also offered by the Regional Councilor for Agricultural Policy, Carmine Cicala, who described Lovallo as "an authentic witness to over a century of our history." For Cicala, Zitòn's story is "not merely a tale of longevity," but the story of a generation that helped build the communities of the Basilicata region through "sacrifice and tenacity." (ANSA). Read article...