Comment vivre 100 ans
Province d’Ogliastra, île de la Sardaigne, Italie
Giacobba Lepori, 104 ans
Villagrande, province d’Ogliastra, île de la Sardaigne, Italie
Je m’habille toujours entièrement de noir et je porte un voile noir sur la tête parce que mon mari est mort et que la tradition veut qu’une veuve se vête ainsi. Je ne sais pas ce qui va m’arriver à la fin de ma vie. Personne ne sait, mais je n’ai pas peur de la mort.
Natale Lotto, 88 ans
Villagrande, province d’Ogliastra, île de la Sardaigne, Italie
Comme berger, j’ai toujours été très pauvre et j’ai eu la vie dure. J’ai passé ma vie à marcher dehors, beau temps, mauvais temps, de jour comme de nuit. Comme la plupart des bergers de la Sardaigne, j’ai commencé à travailler très jeune et je n’ai pas eu beaucoup d’éducation, c’est pourquoi il m’est difficile de m’exprimer avec aisance quand les journalistes viennent m’interroger. De plus, je me trouve laid sur les photos, je parais vieux.
Cela dit, je suis plutôt satisfait de ma vie. Chaque matin, je m’occupe de nourrir le bétail; ça me plaît de travailler un peu pour rester occupé. Tant qu’on le peut, il faut continuer à travailler. Aujourd’hui par exemple, j’ai été jardiner. Je cultive de tout : patates, fèves, zucchinis, tomates, tout. Mon jardin nourrit six différents foyers au sein de ma parenté.
Arianne Clément Photography
of the elderly
how to live to 100?
Ikaria Island, Greece
Aristotelis Giakas, 87 years old
Nas, Ikaria Island, Greece
On the island of Ikaria, we never stop. We walk all day to take care of the olive trees, vines, fruit trees, the garden, the animals, etc. I think healthy food contributes to our longevity, but only in part. The sea air is fresh and the water is pure; it comes from mountain springs and contains no chemicals. Our lifestyle doesn’t make us anxious; unlike people in Athens and other cities. We live with the seasons and the harvest.
Sex is surely the best kept secret of Ikarian longevity. Here, even the centenarians are sexually active and are still very capable! Nothing in the world is more sublime than being ridden by a woman and there is no wrong age to enjoy such bliss. I won’t tell you if I have a lover or not because there is too much gossip on this island, but I can tell you that Mediterranean people are hot-blooded, the men as well as the women!
Nothing is sweeter, however, than making love to your own wife. You feel completely fulfilled, full of affection, happiness and ecstasy. Sex, without the feeling of love, is nowhere near as exquisite. I bitterly miss the time when my wife was alive.
Giorgos Stenos, 88 years old
Christos Raches, Ikaria Island, Greece
The longevity of Ikaria is certainly due to the fact that we eat local, organic, unpasteurized honey every day whose therapeutic properties are amazing.
When I was about 14 years old I read a book about bees and I discovered the incredible contribution of bees to ecology, thanks to pollination. When I was 18, I decided that I would dedicate my life to beekeeping. I could have been content as a honey merchant, but my philosophy is not to exploit nature excessively; I work in harmony with it instead by contributing to the balance of ecosystems.
The quality and price of honey have changed a lot over time. In the 1950s, sugar was worth almost twice as much as honey. We didn’t know the benefits of honey and it had no value. The pastry chefs used it only to save on the price of sugar. However, the wax brought in a little money because we were still lighting the cottages by candlelight.
Later, many studies have shown that we produce one of the best qualities of honey in the world. I have already tasted American honey and, without wanting to offend anyone, in terms of therapeutic properties, it is no better than corn syrup.