Emma Morano

Emma Morano
Born Emma Martina Luigia Morano
29 November 1899[1]
(age 117 years, 6 days)
Civiasco (Vercelli), Kingdom of Italy
Residence Pallanza (Verbano-Cusio-Ossola), Italy
Known for Oldest living person
(since 13 May 2016)
Oldest verified Italian person ever
Last living person verified born in the 1800s
Spouse(s) Giovanni Martinuzzi (1901–1978)
(m. 1926–1978; his death)[2]
Children 1

Emma Morano (born 29 November 1899) is an Italian supercentenarian who is, at the age of 117 years, 6 days,[lower-alpha 1] the world's oldest living person, and the last living person verified to have been born in the 1800s.

She is the oldest verified Italian person ever, and one of the ten verified oldest people ever.[3]

Biography

Early life

Emma Martina Luigia Morano was born on 29 November 1899 in Civiasco, Vercelli, Piedmont, Italy, to Giovanni Morano and Matilde Bresciani,[4] the eldest of eight children (five daughters and three sons). She had a long-lived family: her mother, an aunt and some of her siblings turned 90, and one of her sisters, Angela Morano (1908–2011),[5] died at age 102.

When she was a child, she moved from the Sesia Valley to Ossola for her father's job,[6] but the climate was so unhealthy there that a physician advised her family to live somewhere with a milder climate, so she moved to Pallanza, on Lake Maggiore, where she still lives. In October 1926, she married Giovanni Martinuzzi[7] (1901–1978), and in 1937 her only child was born but died when he was only six months old. The marriage was not happy,[8] so in 1938 Morano separated from her husband, driving him out of the house; despite the couple's separation, they remained married until his death in 1978.

Later life

Until 1954, she worked at Maioni Industry, a jute factory in her town. She subsequently worked in the kitchen of Collegio Santa Maria, a Marianist boarding school in Pallanza, until her retirement at the age of 75.[4]

Morano was still living alone in her home on her 115th birthday.[9] When asked about the secret of her longevity, she said that she had never used drugs, eats three eggs a day, drinks a glass of homemade brandy, and enjoys a chocolate sometimes, but, above all, she thinks positively about the future.[10] Morano credits her long life to her diet of raw eggs and being single.[11]

In 2011, Morano was visited as part of a worldwide study conducted by George Church for Harvard Medical School of Boston, to study the secret of her longevity.[12] In December of that year, she was awarded the honor of Knight of Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by President Giorgio Napolitano.[13]

Morano became the oldest living person in Italy and Europe after the death of Maria Redaelli on 2 April 2013.[7] On her 114th birthday, she gave a short live TV interview to a RAI show.[14] On her 116th birthday, Morano received congratulations from Pope Francis.[15] She surpassed the age of Venere Pizzinato in August 2014 and Dina Manfredini (who died in the USA) in August 2015, to become the oldest Italian person ever.[16][17] On 13 May 2016,[lower-alpha 2] upon the death of American woman Susannah Mushatt Jones, Morano became the world's oldest living person and also the last living person verified to have been born in the 1800s.[19] On 29 July 2016 she was presented with a certificate from Guinness World Records recognizing her as the oldest person alive.[20][21]

See also

Notes

  1. The date listed here is the date verified by Guinness World Records and Gerontology Research Group. However, some sources, including in some cases Morano herself, cite Morano's birthday at 27 November 1899, which would make her two days older.
  2. Susannah Mushatt Jones died 12 May 2016 8:26pm EDT.[18] However, in Italy, where Morano lives, the date was already 13 May 2016 (CEST).

References

  1. "Oldest Validated Living Supercentenarians". Gerontology Research Group. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  2. "Auguri alla nonna d'Italia che ha visto 10 Papi" (in Italian). Sanfrancescopatronoditalia.it. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  3. Di Battista, Stefano (3 April 2016). "Emma tra i 10 più longevi di ogni tempo". Corriere di Novara. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  4. 1 2 (Italian) "I miei 112 anni di storia d'Italia"
  5. ""ANGIOLINA", SONO 102!" (in Italian). Verbaniamilleventi.org. 2007-03-27. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  6. "La nonna che abbraccia tre secoli" (in Italian). Caffe.ch. 2010-11-12. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  7. 1 2 mario.giovanardi. "Emma MArano 113 anni Mangio tre uova al giorno, come mi disse il dottore quando ero ragazza" (in Italian). Vip.it. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  8. "Emma Morano, 112 anni: ha visto dieci Papi. Il segreto? Tre uova al dì" (in Italian). 45.9215067,8.5515597: Blitzquotidiano.it. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  9. "Emma Morano compie 115 anni" (in Italian). ogginotizie.it. Retrieved 2014-12-03.
  10. "Nacque sotto re Umberto I. Era il 1899 Emma Morano è nata a Civiasco 112 anni fa. Oggi vive a Verbania e abita ancora da sola "Martedì ho festeggiato con torta e vino bianco". Mangia tre uova al giorno e beve la "sua" grappa" (in Italian). Civiasco.netweek.it. 1987-07-16. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  11. Bender, Kelli. "Emma Morano, 115, Credits Her Long Life to Raw Eggs and Staying Single". Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  12. "Ricercatori Statunitensi E Troupe Rai Da Nonna Emmm" (in Italian). verbaniamilleventi.org. 2007-03-27. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  13. "Le onorificenze della Repubblica italiana" (in Italian). Quirinale.it. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  14. "Emma Morano compie 114 anni" (in Italian). ogginotizie.it. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
  15. "I 116 anni di Emma Morano". Eco Risveglio. 2015-11-29.
  16. Emma Morano, è italiana la nonnina del mondo Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  17. "Nonna Emma compie 115 anni". 29 November 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  18. Boyette, Chris; Melendez, Pilar (2016-05-14). "Susannah Mushatt Jones, world's oldest person, dies at 116". cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  19. "This woman is the only person left born in the 1800s". USA Today. 13 May 2016.
  20. Sergio Ronchi (2016-08-02). "Emma Morano Sul Libro Del Guinness World Records" (in Italian). verbaniamilleventi.org. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  21. Sergio Ronchi (2016-08-02). "Guinness e marianisti premiano Emma Morano" (in Italian). La Stampa. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
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