Vitantonio Lovallo, the oldest living man in Italy, celebrated his 112th birthday

The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is pleased to announce that Mr. Vitantonio Lovallo, the oldest living man in Italy, has celebrated his 112th birthday on 28 March 2026 in Avigliano, Basilicata.

Vitantonio Lovallo was born in Avigliano, Basilicata, Italy, on 28 March 1914 (although he and his family claim that he was born on 25 March, and that his birth wasn’t registered until 28 March).

From the age of 16, Lovallo has always worked. He began by being a shepherd and helping the family in the lands cultivated with wheat or corn. He got married in 1936. His daughters were born in 1938 and 1946, while his sons were born in 1940 and 1952. His oldest son, Vincenzo, died from meningitis as a baby.

During the Second World War, Lovallo was sent to the front. He served in an artillery group and handled the mail for everyone as he was the only one who could write. Lovallo also kept a war diary. Following the armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces, Italians who refused to fight for Mussolini, became enemies of Germany, and on September 8, 1943, Lovallo was captured by the Germans and taken to the island of Rhodes where he remained in a prison camp until 27 November, 1943. Then he was moved to a Stalag VIII-C prison camp in Germany and worked in forced labor. He was freed on 8 May 1945. He returned home on 27 October of that year and found work as a muleteer.

Lovallo was widowed in 2015, when his wife died from leukemia at the age of 98. Until the age of 106, he still tended the vineyard or grazed his ten sheep every morning. The secret of his vitality is concentrated in these two aspects: healthy and stress-free life. In April 2021, aged 107, Lovallo got vaccinated against COVID-19, making he one of the oldest people to receive the vaccine. As of 2026, he lives with his elderly daughters, while his son lives in Northern Italy.

Throughout his life, Lovallo has followed a mediterranean diet, with lots of legumes and locally grown fruit and vegetables. He used to drink a glass of his home made wine with meals, but stopped in recent years. He also used to eat Carchiola for lunch, bread made with corn flour, filled with vegetables and lard, cooked over embers.

According to his granddaughter, Lovallo remains in good health and doesn’t always use a walker. He takes a daily low-dose aspirin and some supplements and knows himself what he needs to take. He has occasional memory lapses.

Vitantonio Lovallo currently lives in Avigliano, Basilicata, Italy, at the age of 112.

On 15 July 2023, following the death of 108-year-old professor Luigi Miti, Lovallo became the last surviving Italian man born in 1914.

On 28 March 2024, Lovallo celebrated his 110th birthday, becoming a supercentenarian, as well as the first male supercentenarian from the region of Basilicata.

On 31 March 2024, following the death of 110-year-old Michele Cicora, Lovallo became the oldest living man in Italy.

On 30 May 2024, Lovallo’s age was validated by the GRG, verified by Andrea Oddone.

On 23 January 2026, following the death of 111-year-old Maurice Le Coutour of France, Lovallo became the last known surviving European man born in 1914.

On 28 March 2026, Lovallo celebrated his 112th birthday, becoming the third man in Italy to reach the age of 112 (after Antonio Todde and Giovanni Frau), and the first to do so since 29 December 2002, when Frau turned 112.

Lovallo is currently the second-oldest living person in Italy, behind 115-year-old Lucia Laura Sangenito, as well as the second-oldest living man in Europe, behind 112-year-old Ilie Ciocan of Romania. He is also the fourth-oldest validated living man in the world, behind 113-year-old João Marinho Neto of Brazil, 112-year-old Ilie Ciocan of Romania, and 112-year-old Ken Weeks of Australia.

Happy 112th birthday to Mr. Vitantonio Lovallo! We wish him a good health and a long life!

LINK
Basilicata, il signor Vitantonio compie ben 112 anni: è il più longevo d’Italia! Auguri