She is the last human survivor from the 19th Century. Emma Morano of Italy is 116 years old and is, now, the oldest human in the world. The previous oldest human, Susannah Jones of Brooklyn, died on Thursday night at the age of 116 also. Morano was born in Italy on November 29, 1899.
She was once asked what she attributes her longevity to and she replied that she drinks a glass of her home made brandy everyday. She is convinced that has what has kept her alive for 116 years. She was born into a family of eight children and had a sister that actually lived to be 102. Italy, it seems, is rather famous for producing humans that can break the 100 year old mark. There is a small group of them and even scientists from the University of Milan have been studying them to try and determine what it is about them that makes them so long lived.
Morano hits the hay around 7PM but rises with the sun. She eats extremely light; just two eggs, a biscuit and some pasta every day. Her doctor reports that she is truly a miracle and that she takes no drugs at all to sustain herself. She claims she has been eating and living in the same way since she was 20 years old in 1919. The doctors really can’t figure her out. She never eats vegetables and has had the same exact diet for nearly 100 years.
She had one child from her marriage in 1926 but the child died before its first birthday. Twelve years later, in 1938, she and her husband got a separation but were never legally divorced. She worked in a factory and at a school and didn’t officially retire until she was 75 years old.
She recalls that as a young woman she had such a beautiful singing voice that people, especially men, would simply stop on the road outside her house and listen to her. Her mobility is rather limited at this stage of the game. She can, generally, get out of bed and make it to her favorite arm chair. She doesn’t see all that well and is nearly deaf but she says that she really can’t complain.
She recalls that on her 116th birthday she got a signed letter of congratulations from the president of Italy and a formal and written blessing from the Catholic Christian pope, Francis I.
PHOTO CREDIT: USA Today