11. Sos Ammentos

Tzia Petronilla, born in 1928, and Tziu Nicola, born in 1925, have surpassed 90 years of age and have been married for nearly 75 years. In their gaze, you can see the complicity of an adventure that has lasted a lifetime.

This photograph marks the conclusion of a parallel narrative, which includes photos 8, 9, 10, 11, focused on the phases of life, where the arrival of old age takes on the significance of a great gift and privilege. The elderly play a crucial role in Sardinian society and, among their many qualities, they are regarded as the custodians of Sos Ammentos, the memories, and more broadly, as living witnesses to the historical memory of our entire people.

In Sardinia, the presence of the elderly is quite significant. The island is one of the five Blue Zones identified in the world. Blue Zones are demographic and/or geographic areas where life expectancy is significantly higher than the global average. The concept was introduced by researchers Gianni Pes, Michel Poulain, and others in 2004 through a publication focusing on human longevity. It identifies the province of Nuoro in Sardinia as the area with the highest concentration of centenarians in the world.

In 2016, the Sardinian Socio Economic Observatory (SSEO) published an analysis of data regarding the incidence of centenarians in the region, province, and municipality of the island. Municipality-level data were constructed using an indicator that represents the average presence of centenarians per thousand inhabitants in the period from 2012 to 2016.

Regarding the Province of Nuoro, Loculi is among the municipalities that showed the highest incidence of centenarians during the analyzed five-year period, with an average value of 2.68 centenarians per thousand inhabitants. It is preceded by Dualchi (3.11) and stands alongside Oniferi (2.62).