Anna Possi answered the phone at a cafe, but immediately asked to be called back. “I have customers,” she says.
Mid-afternoon, Possi, who runs Bar Centrale in Nebbiuno, a small town overlooking Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, has been serving coffee since 7 a.m. She always finishes at 7pm.
This is an average working day for an Italian barista, but Possi is very different from the average barista in one important way. At 100 years old, she is the oldest person in Italy. The centenarian, who recently conferred upon her the honorary title of Commander of the Republic, is a familiar face to regulars who have spent their lives with the cafe, which has grown from cutting-edge to vintage. “I’m always working, whether it’s Sunday, Easter or Christmas. I’ve never taken vacation,” she says.
This has been Possi’s daily routine since she and her husband opened the bar on May 1, 1958, serving espresso and cappuccino to customers. Alcoholic beverages were added to the menu in 1971, when the couple purchased the license.
But it was the jukebox that attracted customers. Bar Centrale was the perfect place, and its customers came from far and wide. “They came here to socialize and dance,” Possi said. “We had a foosball table, and we were the most modern bar in town.”
After her husband died in 1974, she devoted her life to her two children and running the bar. “Ever since her father died, she never wanted to have another relationship,” said her daughter Christina. “She was focused on us and her work.”
Possi described the 1960s through the 1980s as “the most beautiful era” in the bar’s history. Famous roadside customers included AC Milan soccer players Gianni Rivera and Fulvio Corovati.
But she’s not the type to indulge in nostalgia. The jukebox may be gone, but the bar now has a book stand where customers can swap books or read a book while drinking coffee. If you call on a Sunday, you’ll receive a slice of homemade apple pie. “Now that I’m still in charge, we’re known as Vintage Bar,” Possi said.
But she also has a computer on the premises, which she uses every morning to peruse the news and research the stock exchange. “I read everything. I still want to learn and understand things better.”
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Her regular customers are mostly pensioners in town, who sometimes call to talk to Possi without actually buying anything. But publicity for her 100th birthday, which will be celebrated on November 16, has led to a surge in new customers from overseas.
“People come to see me because they can’t believe I’m still working,” she says. “When they leave, they leave satisfied and recharged. I don’t know what I told them.”
In fact, Possi believes that being with other people is the secret to longevity. “I don’t want to be depressed,” she said. “I want to live, I want to be among people.”
She has no plans to quit her job anytime soon. “I will continue to work as long as my health allows,” she said, advising young people to “choose jobs that are fun.”
Possi is one of a growing number of centenarians in Italy. According to statistics from the national statistics agency Istat, by the end of 2023, the number of people aged 100 or older will reach 22,552, the highest ever. The majority of centenarians in Italy are women.
The oldest living person in Italy is Claudia Baccarini, 114 years old, while Lucia Laura Sangenito is just one month younger. Emma Morano held the title of world’s oldest person for 11 months until her death in 2017 at the age of 117.
