Sardinia Village Emerges as Longevity Hotspot

Published: 08 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

A small mountain village in central Sardinia is attracting growing scientific interest after researchers found an unusually high proportion of its women reaching the age of 100, raising the possibility that the community could represent a new longevity hotspot.

Bolotana, a village in Sardinia’s Margine area, is located about 110 kilometres from the island’s better-known longevity region. Researchers from the University of Sassari in Sardinia and the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the United States have identified the village as a potential new “blue zone”, a term used for areas where unusually large numbers of people live to exceptionally old ages.

Their study found that 13.8% of women in Bolotana who reach the age of 70 go on to live until 100. That figure places the village second globally for female longevity, behind Hong Kong, according to the researchers. The result is particularly striking when compared with Italy as a whole, where only about 3.5% of women who reach 70 live to their 100th birthday.

Sardinia has long been associated with exceptional longevity. In 1999, several remote communities in the island’s central and eastern mountainous areas were identified among the world’s original five blue zones. Those communities became internationally known for producing unusually high numbers of centenarians, particularly among men.

Bolotana appears to offer a different pattern. Researchers say its longevity is overwhelmingly driven by women, making the village unusual even within Sardinia’s already exceptional demographic landscape.

The study examined historical records of people born in Bolotana between 1900 and 1925. Researchers identified 38 residents from those generations who lived beyond the age of 100. Their analysis indicated that the village’s longevity rate was about 57% higher than the Italian national average.

The population of Bolotana is relatively small. Around the time the study was conducted, the village had approximately 2,266 residents. Yet researchers found 12 centenarians living there as recently as 2025, a figure roughly 12 times higher than the average for Sardinia.

Six of those centenarians have since died, while the remaining six are all women. Two of the oldest residents are 102 years old. Researchers expect additional residents to reach the century mark by the end of 2026 and during 2027.

For Giovanni Mario Pes, the lead scientist behind the study and one of the researchers associated with the development of the blue-zone concept, the findings are significant because they suggest that exceptional longevity in Sardinia may extend beyond the boundaries of the original zone identified more than 25 years ago.

Pes said the most important discovery was the identification of a longevity phenomenon outside the island’s established blue zone. While Bolotana shares several characteristics with the original region, he said the village stands out because of the extraordinary prevalence of longevity among women.

The researchers compared Bolotana with other recognised blue zones, including Okinawa in Japan, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, Ikaria in Greece and Loma Linda in California. Their findings suggested that Sardinia’s longevity pattern may be geographically broader than previously understood.

The study does not attempt to identify a single explanation for why residents of Bolotana live so long. Instead, it documents the demographic phenomenon and leaves questions about its causes for future research.

Pes has been cautious about assigning a definitive “secret” to the village’s longevity. Despite spending time with elderly residents, he has avoided drawing firm conclusions about diet, exercise or lifestyle as individual causes.

What did make an impression, however, was the strength of social relationships among older residents.

Pes described seeing elderly women who remained active and socially connected well into their second century. One example is Giovanna Marras, who is 101 and lives with her sister. The sisters continue to cook together, talk regularly and share their daily lives. Pes said he observed no obvious signs of cognitive decline in Marras.

Such close family and community connections may be relevant to understanding the lives of exceptionally old residents, although the study does not establish that social relationships directly cause longevity.

Bolotana’s mayor, Francesco Manconi, has offered a number of possible explanations based on his observations of village life. He believes the combination of diet, environment and physical activity could be important.

Traditional Sardinian food is often associated with fresh, locally produced ingredients, and Manconi pointed to the village’s diet as one possible factor. Yet residents do not appear to have followed a highly restrictive approach to food. Traditional treats remain part of everyday life, including seada, a pastry filled with cheese, and mustazzolus, a spiced biscuit often eaten at breakfast.

The surrounding environment may also contribute. Bolotana sits within a relatively unspoiled natural landscape, and residents historically maintained active lifestyles without relying on modern fitness facilities.

The village does not have a gym, but older generations were accustomed to walking considerable distances as part of everyday life. Manconi said elderly residents had historically walked as much as 20 kilometres a day, with women particularly active.

That lifestyle may offer clues but cannot by itself explain the extraordinary statistics. Longevity is influenced by a complex combination of genetics, living conditions, healthcare, social circumstances, lifestyle and chance. Researchers will need to determine which factors distinguish Bolotana from other communities before drawing broader conclusions.

The demographic picture in Italy also highlights the prominent role women play in extreme longevity. Official figures from November 2025 recorded 23,548 people aged 100 or older across the country, an increase of around 2,000 from the previous year. Women represented 82.6% of those who had reached or surpassed their hundredth birthday.

Women also make up the majority of Italy’s exceptionally old population beyond 100. Among the country’s 724 semi-supercentenarians, defined as people aged 105 or older, women are again dominant. The same pattern is evident among the 19 people recorded as supercentenarians, those who have reached at least 110.

The findings from Bolotana therefore fit into a broader demographic pattern while appearing to take it to an unusual extreme. Women already have a well-established biological advantage in average longevity, but researchers say the scale of the difference in this Sardinian village is exceptional.

For the people living there, however, extreme old age appears less like a scientific phenomenon and more like an ordinary part of community life. Families remain closely connected, older residents continue participating in daily activities and traditional food and social habits have survived across generations.

That combination is now attracting the attention of researchers interested in how communities produce unusually large numbers of healthy older people.

Bolotana may ultimately be recognised as another blue zone, or future research may show that its exceptional figures have a more complicated explanation. For now, the village provides a rare opportunity to examine longevity on a small scale, particularly the factors associated with women remaining healthy and independent well into their 100s.

As researchers continue to study the community, Bolotana’s experience could contribute to a wider understanding of ageing and the conditions that allow people not merely to reach 100, but to remain socially connected and active at an age few people achieve.