The teacher Federica: “I remember Mussolini and the vote for women”
(ANSA) – NUORO, June 28 – Perdasdefugu, a village of 1,740 inhabitants in Ogliastra, has a new centenary: the coveted birthday is the elementary teacher Federica Melis, eighth centenary of the town, thus giving Perdasdefogu the national longevity record . This was confirmed by the demographer of the University of Cagliari Luisa Salaris. “If in Italy – he explains – there are 30 centenarians for every 100 thousand inhabitants, in Perdasdefogu we have 8 per 1,740 inhabitants, that is, there is a presence of centenarians 13 times higher than the national average”.
“But there is also another data in contrast with the rest of Italy where women usually live longer: in Perdasdefogu instead – reveals the expert – of the 8 living centenarians, 4 are men and 4 are women. And if in the Peninsula there are 4/5 centenarians for a centenary, in Perdasdefogu we have a ratio of 1 to 1, effectively denoting an exceptional male longevity “.
The teacher Federica received today, June 28, a visit from the mayor Mariano Carta in the tricolor band who brought her the best wishes of the community and gave her the gold medal for the achievement. The parish priest of the town, Don Luca Fadda, celebrated mass in his courtyard, in front of his garden. “I remember the speeches of Benito Mussolini and the first vote for women. I am happy with the last memory, but I am not happy with the first”, says the new centenary.
For Perdasdefogu it is the second challenge he won: in 2015 he had in fact grabbed the record of the longest-lived family on the planet, certified by the Guinness Book of Records in London. Nine Melis brothers – neighbors but not relatives of Federica – had added together 848 years, a record that still remains unbeaten. (HANDLE).