The secret to longevity is being a woman – specifically, a woman in one part of Sardinia. At least, that is the conclusion of a study on centenarians in a tiny mountain village on the Italian island. Sardinia became known as a haven for longevity, especially for long-lived men, in 1999 when a cluster of remote villages nestled in the slopes of its central and eastern provinces were classified among the world’s five “blue zones” – geographic areas with high concentrations of centenarians.
Now Bolotana, located in the Margine area of central Sardinia about 70 miles (110km) from the island’s original blue zone, has emerged as a new potential candidate, researchers say, generating centenarians every year in a trend driven by women. A study by professors at Sardinia’s University of Sassari and the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the US, published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Aging, found that 13.8% of women in the village who reach the age of 70 will live to 100 – placing it second in the world for female longevity after Hong Kong. In Italy, where the number of centenarians has more than doubled since 2009, 3.5% of women who make it to 70 will achieve the milestone.
The researchers analysed records of people born in Bolotana between 1900 and 1925 and found that 38 had lived beyond 100, putting their longevity rate at 57% higher than the Italian national average. The study began in 2024 and as of last year there were 12 centenarians among a population of 2,266 in Bolotana – roughly 12 times the Sardinian average. Six have since died and the six who are left are all women, the two eldest being 102.
More residents are expected to reach the milestone age by the end of this year and during 2027. The findings also showed that, compared with the world’s other four blue zones – Okinawa in Japan, the Nicoya peninsula in Costa Rica, Ikaria in Greece and Loma Linda in California in the US – Sardinia’s zone was expanding. Whereas the original zone had an unusual balance between the two sexes, here female longevity prevails.” Pes said that while it was already well established that women lived longer for biological reasons, “the extraordinary thing is that the longevity of the women in Bolotana is three times higher than that of most western women”.
Pes, a Sardinian whose great-grandfather lived to 110 and whose mother is 101, declined to be drawn into hypothesising over the secrets to the village’s longevity, saying the study was “limited to pointing out the existence of the phenomenon”. However, after spending time with sprightly centenarian women there, he said what struck him most were the “very intense and very real social relations” maintained throughout their lives. He gave the example of Giovanna Marras, 101, who lives with her sister.
The “uncontaminated nature” surrounding the village could also play a role, Manconi added, as well as physical activity, despite Bolotana not having a gym. And I would say they were mostly women.” As of November 2025, official statistics showed there were 23,548 residents in Italy who were aged 100 or over, up 2,000 from the previous year. Of those eclipsing a century last year, 82.6% were women.
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