| Venere Pizzinato-Papo | |
 | |
| Birth: | 23 November 1896 Ala, Austria-Hungary (now Italy) |
| Death: | 2 August 2011 Verona, Italy |
| Age: | 114 years, 252 days |
| Country: |  ITA
|
| Validated | |
Venere Pizzinato-Papo (23 November 1896 – 2 August 2011)[1] was an Italian supercentenarian [2] who was the oldest validated person from Italy, living to the age of 114 years, 252 days.[3] She was the world's third-oldest living person, behind Besse Cooper and Chiyono Hasegawa. Pizzinato was also the oldest person ever to have been born in the Austro-Hungarian empire, until Tekla Juniewicz surpassed her age on 18 February 2021. At the time of her death she was the oldest person ever from Italy after surpassing Virginia Dighero's age on 28 November 2010. She held the title until 13 December 2011 when she was surpassed by Dina Manfredini, an emigrant to the United States. However, she remained the oldest person to reside in Italy as a supercentenarian until Emma Morano surpassed her on 9 August 2014.
Biography
She was born in Ala, Trentino, then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, on 23 November 1896. In 1902 the family moved to Verona, where they had relatives. In 1903, the family moved back to Trentino were Pizzinato attended a boarding school in its capital city, Trento. World War I forced Pizzinato to take refuge in Bazzano, Bologna. After the war she moved back to Milan where she took Italian citizenship and met her future husband Isidoro Papo. During the outbreak of World War II, in 1939, the couple moved to Nice, France, to escape the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. They married in France, and after the war, they moved back to Milan. Upon retirement in 1964, the couple moved to Verona, where they finally settled. Isidoro died in 1981. The couple never had any children. Pizzinato remained in Verona for the rest of her life; at the time of her death, she lived in a retirement home there.[4][5] On 23 November 2010, marking her 114th birthday, Pizzinato was visited by Italy's president Giorgio Napolitano, who wrote her a letter with the words "In this happy and special occasion I would like to send, on behalf of all Italians, sincere congratulations and good wishes of serenity with her loved ones and people around the community Saint Catherine in Verona".[6]
References
- ↑ Europe's oldest person dies at 114 ABC News, 4 August 2011
- ↑ Table A - Verified Supercentenarians as of 1 January 2015 Gerontology Research Group
- ↑ Il record di Nonna Venere, è veronese la donna più vecchia d'Italia TgVerona, 11 November 2009 (Archived)
- ↑ Morta a 114 anni la donna più vecchia d'Italia Trentino Corriere Alpi, 4 August 2011 (Archived)
- ↑ Addio a Venere Pizzinato, la donna più anziana d'Europa Magazine, 5 August 2011
- ↑ Tanti auguri per i suoi 114 anni Napolitano scrive a nonna Venere Corriere del Veneto, 24 November 2010