Visiting Europe’s Oldest Active Bartender: 101-Year-Old Anna Possi

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On 14 January, Alessandro Delucchi, Senior Researcher for Italy at LongeviQuest Europe, traveled to the town of Nebbiuno (Novara), in the Piedmont region, to visit Mrs. Anna Possi, the oldest active bartender in Europe, aged 101 years and 59 days.

Mr. Delucchi, accompanied by another Italian researcher, Tiziano Gaudino, spent two hours with Mrs. Possi and her family, listening to stories from her long life. She was presented with a LongeviQuest certificate. Mrs. Possi prepared coffee and a handmade apple pie for the visitors, which they enjoyed at Bar Centrale, the bar where Mrs. Possi has worked since 1958.

This remarkable barwoman welcomed the Italian researchers with enthusiasm, joy, and exceptional hospitality. In just a few minutes, an extraordinary sense of empathy developed between them.

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Mrs. Possi was born in Nebbiuno (Novara) on 16 November 1924. She later married and had two children. At the age of 18, she began working by helping her uncles, who owned two hotels in Novara. She later worked in a restaurant in Genoa, Liguria. In 1958, at the age of 32, she began working as a barwoman at Bar Centrale in Nebbiuno with her husband. In 1974, her husband sadly passed away. Over the last 52 years, she has continued running the bar on her own. Her daughter is now 61 years old, and her son is 68.

Mrs. Possi has lived in the apartment above the bar since 1958. She wakes up every day at 6:00 a.m., opens the bar at 7:00 a.m., and closes it at 7:00 p.m. She opens the bar 365 days a year, including Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and Easter. For Anna Possi, the bar is her home. If she were to close the bar for even one day, she would suffer from melancholy, as she loves living among people, tourists, and her loyal customers.

Ms. Possi eats very little during the day. She has a fairly large breakfast with typical Italian sweets (such as Milanese panettone), does not eat lunch, and in the evening eats vegetable soups and fruit. She rarely eats meat.

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