Alborina Silano, 100 years old
The secret of longevity? Vegetables in each soup and long walks

The secret to get to 100? Alborina Silano, born in 1919, lived between Grotta Minarda and Villanova del Battista, in the province of Avellino, says she does not know. But in her story you can find elements of a Mediterranean lifestyle.

As a little girl she helped her mother and sisters prepare loaves of bread that the following day theywould bring to the town oven. In the mixture they added potatoes that preserved softness for several days. At that time food had another value, and had to be preserved longer, nothing could be wated and work was optimized because there was no frozen, pre-cooked, refrigerated food.

As a young woman working as a director of the post office – which at the time meant handing letters, interfacing with the public, managing the office and being an accountant. Until a year before retirement she did not own a car: she used to walk from her home to the post office and back, and  she walked to deliver mail to every home, and she did household chores. Back home, she started the fire on the floor because the kitchen as we know it did not exist.

Alborina, as a working woman in the ’50s and’ 60s, did not have much time to devote to the culinary arts, and by hand she just prepared ravioli her husband loved, although she could also make, for her mother had taught her, all varieties of homemade pasta: cavatelli, orecchiette, tagliatelle!

Today she wakes up when the sun rises and goes to bed at ten at night. Her favorite dish is, without a doubt, vegetables! From chicory to cabbage, sweet peppers to broccoli. Following a variety of legumes. And to complement her meal she drinks1-2 glasses of red wine.