On June 1, 2012, Guinness World Records verified that the nine Melis siblings (six women, three men) of Perdasdefogu, Italy, were the oldest living siblings in the world. That day, their combined age was 818 years and 205 days.
Here are the names of all nine:
- Consolata (b. August 22, 1907)
- Claudina (b. June 30, 1913)
- Maria (b. June 12, 1915)
- Antonino (b. May 5, 1919)
- Concetta (b. February 24, 1921)
- Adolfo (b. October 20, 1923)
- Vitalio (b. February 6, 1926)
- Fida Vitalia (b. October 5, 1931)
- Mafalda (b. June 16, 1934) — nicknamed la piccolina, or “the little one”
Their parents were Francesco and Eleonora Melis, both born in the 1880s.
To what does Alfonso attribute their collective longevity? “We eat genuine food, meaning lots of minestrone and little meat and we are always working. Every free moment I have I am down at my vineyard or at the allotment where I grow beans, aubergines, peppers and potatoes.”
Which of the nine names do you like best?
Sources: In Sardinia, world’s longest-living family credits hard work, diet, family, Sardinian siblings credit minestrone soup for world record age