Caltabellotta, a small village nestled in the mountains of the Agrigento hinterland, has been identified as a possible new Blue Zone, an area where living beyond 90 or even 100 years is a more common phenomenon than average. The discovery comes from recent research signed by the Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics – BiND of the University of Palermo, led by Professor Calogero Caruso and Professor Giuseppina Candore, together with researchers Giulia Accardi, Anna Aiello and Anna Calabrò.
Caltabellotta, the Sicilian village where longevity is at home according to science
The research, entitled “An Emerging Longevity Blue Zone in Sicily: The Case of Caltabellotta and the Sicani Mountains”, examined the birth registers of those born between 1900 and 1924. The analysis revealed 472 people over ninety and 32 centenarians out of 5,319 births, with an incidence of 8.9%, a figure that comes close to those registered in the historic Blue Zone of Sardinia.
The country was chosen as a sample municipality due to the record ratio between over 90s and over 60s, a fundamental demographic indicator that excludes distortions caused by migration. This measure, in fact, allows us to identify communities that offer resilience to social fragility and maintain a healthy and balanced age structure.
The project, also conducted in collaboration with the University of Sassari – in particular with Professor Gianni Mario, Doctor Alessandra Errigo and Professor Vasto, already active in previous studies on Sicilian centenarians – aims to precisely identify the environmental, social and biological causes of this exceptional longevity.
Other Sicilian villages are also candidates for places of extraordinary longevity
In addition to Caltabellotta, the study placed other municipalities in the internal areas of Sicily under observation. These are Novara di Sicilia, Geraci Siculo, Bompietro, Sant’Angelo Muxaro and Giuliana, all characterized by a concentration of people over 90 and over 100 well above the regional and national average.
Many of these towns are located in the mountain areas of the Sicani and Madonie Mountains, already the subject of an analysis in 2018, in which the case of Isnello also emerged, where two supercentenarians were recorded for every thousand inhabitants.
Professor Caruso commented on the study as follows:
These areas show similar characteristics to international Blue Zones: low levels of pollution, social cohesion, Mediterranean diet and a daily life still linked to the land and spontaneous physical movement.
This demographic and environmental investigation does not stop here. The BiND group at the University of Palermo will continue with multidisciplinary analyzes to delve deeper into the biological, social and cultural dynamics that favor active ageing. The final objective is to promote a model of conscious and sustainable longevity, useful for guiding public policies regarding well-being, public health and prevention of age-related chronic diseases.
Caltabellotta and the other Sicilian villages, therefore, are not only examples of beauty and tradition, but represent living laboratories of a possible future, where quality of life and longevity go hand in hand. A powerful message for an Italy that is aging, but can do it well, taking inspiration from those who have already found the right formula.
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