In a small mountain village in Sardinia, Italy, researchers have identified what may be one of the longest-lived female populations in the world. The town of Bolotana, located about 110 kilometers from Sardinia’s original Blue Zone, is attracting international attention for its remarkable number of centenarian women.
A new study published in Frontiers in Aging examined demographic data from 2021 to 2025 and found that women in Bolotana live considerably longer than their peers. For a 70-year-old woman in the village, remaining life expectancy is 20.85 years, compared with 18.61 years in Nuoro Province, 18.4 years across Sardinia and 18.06 years across Italy.
Even more striking is the probability of reaching 100. Researchers estimate that a 70-year-old woman in Bolotana has a 13.83 percent chance of becoming a centenarian. That is roughly three times higher than in the surrounding province and across Italy, where the probability ranges from 3 to 4.5 percent.
Study co-author and epidemiologist S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois Chicago says the data place Bolotana women among the world’s most successful agers. He notes that their survival prospects between ages 70 and 100 rank second only to those of women in Hong Kong, long considered a global benchmark for female life expectancy.
International comparisons further highlight the unusual pattern. According to the authors, a 70-year-old woman in Bolotana is more than three times as likely to reach 100 as a woman of the same age in the United States. This makes the Sardinian village an important case study for understanding exceptional female longevity.
Men live long, but not as long
Men in Bolotana also enjoy relatively long lives, although their advantage over national averages is more modest. For a 70-year-old man in the village, remaining life expectancy is 16.02 years, compared with 15.48 years for Italian men overall, according to the study’s estimates.
Their chances of becoming centenarians, however, still exceed the national average. A 70-year-old man in Bolotana has a 4.92 percent probability of surviving to 100, more than three times the 1.41 percent estimated for Italian men nationwide. This suggests a local longevity advantage that extends to both sexes.
Researchers caution that Bolotana’s small population, approximately 2,266 residents during the study period, makes statistical estimates sensitive to the years examined. When they analyzed data from 2015 to 2019, the probability of a 70-year-old woman reaching 100 fell to 1.46 percent, although remaining life expectancy at 70 still exceeded the national average.
Despite these fluctuations, the broader pattern of longer life expectancy remains. Both women and men in the village tend to outlive comparable populations elsewhere in Italy, supporting Bolotana’s status as a potential longevity hot spot rather than simply an isolated statistical finding.
Why Bolotana stands out
Bolotana initially attracted scientific interest after observers noticed an unusually high number of residents living beyond 100, many of whom were celebrated on a local website. However, the town’s exceptional historical records proved equally important in encouraging researchers to investigate its longevity.
Olshansky emphasizes that municipal and baptismal archives in Bolotana extend back centuries, allowing researchers to verify ages at birth and death with considerable precision. Centenarians’ ages can be checked against multiple registers, reducing the risk of errors or exaggerations that have complicated longevity claims in other regions.
The study did not attempt to identify the specific causes of the village’s exceptional longevity, but the authors describe several possible contributing factors. These include genetic background, traditional dietary habits, regular physical activity, close family networks, strong social cohesion, long-term residence and reliable access to healthcare.
Environmental and lifestyle characteristics may also support healthy aging. Bolotana is surrounded by steep, hilly terrain that encourages daily walking rather than driving. Much of the food consumed is locally grown, while social isolation appears relatively uncommon in the closely connected community.
A new Blue Zone candidate
Sardinia is already known as the location of the first identified Blue Zone, a term popularized to describe regions where people frequently live to 100 and beyond. Longevity researcher and study co-author Dan Buettner, who helped establish the Blue Zone concept, says Bolotana has emerged as a strong candidate to join this select group.
The authors describe Bolotana as a “candidate longevity Blue Zone” because it meets several important criteria: exceptional survival at older ages, verified age records and a local culture that appears to support healthy aging. However, they emphasize that demographic findings represent only the starting point for more detailed biological and social research.
Future studies are expected to examine genetic markers, dietary patterns, stress levels, social support networks and healthcare access among Bolotana residents. Researchers hope that identifying the mechanisms behind the village’s exceptional female longevity could provide insights into extending healthy life in other populations.
The findings also contribute to discussions about gender differences in aging. Although women generally outlive men worldwide, those in Bolotana appear to have an even greater advantage than usual, suggesting that local conditions may amplify biological differences or interact with them in distinctive ways.
For now, scientists remain cautious about drawing firm recommendations from a single small community. Nevertheless, the Bolotana study highlights the growing recognition that longevity depends on more than medical care alone. Daily physical activity, strong social connections and stable, community-centered living may be as important as genetics in determining who reaches 100.
The research, published in Frontiers in Aging, underwent peer review and used Italy’s official demographic statistics. The authors acknowledge limitations, including small sample sizes and sensitivity to the periods analyzed, but argue that evidence from multiple data sources makes Bolotana a particularly valuable example for studying extreme longevity.
