Maria Farrugia
- Full name: Maria Farrugia [née Galea]
- Lifespan: (07.03.1912 – 23.12.2024)
- Age: 112 years, 291 days
- Birthplace: Mosta, Northern Region, Crown Colony of Malta (now Malta)
- Last residence: Hamrun, Southern Region, Malta
- Application date: 07.03.2024
- Validation date: 27.03.2024
- Validation source: Oliver Trim
Biography
Maria Farrugia, originally Maria Galea, was born in Mosta, Northern Region, Malta on 7 March 1912. Her father was a stevedore whose job involved carrying baskets of coal onto barges at the port – even though he could not swim. He later went to work at a farm known as Ta’ Viku, located where the Santa Venera Lidl now stands. Her mother reached the age of 100, and she had four siblings. Tragically, one sibling died at age 37 during one of Malta’s earliest air raids. She grew up in Hamrun and has memories of washing clothes at Ghajn tal-Hasselin, a communal washing area in Msida. An expert seamstress, she supplemented the family income through sewing. Farrugia had three children: Josephine (deceased), Angelo (deceased), and Carmen. She became a widow in 1962.
Maria lived through World War I (1914-1918), the Sette Giugno uprising (June 7 and 9, 1919) and World War II (1939-1945). She recalled Malta gaining its independence in 1964 and becoming a republic in 1974, followed by Freedom Day in 1979 as well as EU accession in 2004.
Maria was born and lived during a time of poverty and she did not go to school as, at the time, it was not yet compulsory. Despite this, she learnt how to read and read novels, took sewing classes and learnt to cook.
She also helped her mother – who lived till the age of 100 – sell milk for one penny per can and worked as a cleaner for some time. In 1941, she married Ġorġ Farrugia with whom she had three children: Anġlu, Josephine and Karmena.
Her husband was a soldier in the King’s Own Regiment and, later, following an injury, he was as employed with the Air Raids Precautions which would clean up debris and search for casualties following air raids. Her husband died before he turned 50.
She lost her brother, Pawlu, during the first WWII air raid on Malta in June 1940. He had been out playing the terramaxka (music box) when he died, despite taking shelter in an Msida stable.
On 8 December 2021, at the age of 109 years, 276 days, she surpassed the final age of Connie Galea (1890–2000), becoming the oldest known person ever in Malta. Three months later, on 7 March 2022, she celebrated her 110th birthday, becoming the first supercentenarian ever recorded in Malta. She went on to turn 111 in 2023, and 112 in 2024.
Maria Farrugia died in Hamrun, Southern Region, Malta on 23 December 2024 at the age oif 112 years, 291 days. Following her death, then 108-year-old Grace Gatt (born 20 January 1916), became the oldest living person in Malta.
Maria Farrugia on her 110th birthday in 2022.
Longevity Recognition
- Longevity recordholder of Malta (08.12.2021 – present)
- Oldest living person in Malta (20.04.2016 – 23.12.2024)
Validation
The age of Marta Farrugia was meticulously examined and verified by Mr. Oliver Trim, GRG Correspondent for the United Kingdom, and validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) on 27 March 2024.
Maria Farrugia as a young woman.
Maria Farrugia on her wedding day in 1941.
Maria Farrugia at the age of 107.
Maria Farrugia at the age of 111.
Photo courtesy of The Times of Malta.