Posted by Today Emma Morano celebrates 116 years and becomes the oldest woman both in Italy and in Europe.
The birthday of Emma Morano
Mrs Emma was born in 1899 in the province of Vercelli and then moved to the shores of Lake Maggiore while she was still a young girl, living during three centuries as well as her American counterpart Susannah Mushatt Jones.
Today Emma celebrates her birthday with family and friends at her home in Verbania, where she lives alone.
No carers, no relatives, no support, only a niece who goes to see her every morning and helps her to prepare food.
In an interview with The New York Times she reveals her long-life secret: being single!
Yes, Emma decides to separate from her husband, Giovanni Martinuzzi, in 1938, when she was almost forty, after an unhappy and violent marriage, and never remarried because ” she does not want to be controlled.” Considering that even Susannah is single by choice, perhaps the secret of living long is exactly this?
Perhaps, but genetics plays its part too. Her mother, an aunt and all of the sisters of Italy’s grandmother lived past ninety, and her sister Angela reached 102.
Emma also received two special gifts for her birthday: greetings from Mattarella and a blessing from Pope Francis.
We at Emadion also want to join in with our best wishes: Happy Birthday Grandma Emma!
Update
On 12 May 2016, after the death of American Susannah Mushatt Jones, Emma Morano became the oldest living person in the world. On 29 November 2016 she turned 117.
She died at her home in Verbania on 15 April 2017, aged 117 years and 137 days. She is still the longest-lived person ever in Italy, one of only 13 people in the world to have reached 117 and the last person born before 1900 to die.
She told journalists that her secret, besides having been married only briefly, was taking no medicines, eating eggs and minced meat every day, an occasional glass of home-made grappa and a few gianduiotti chocolates, and above all always thinking positively about tomorrow.
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