Europe’s oldest living man has died after revealing the secrets behind his incredible longevity.
Vitantonio Lovallo, known to everyone as “Zitòn”, passed away on Tuesday (15 September) in Avigliano, Italy, aged 112 years and 171 days.
Born in Sarnelli, a hamlet of Avigliano, on 28 March 1914 according to official records, he started working as a shepherd at just 16.
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He met his future wife in the village, where she had been sent to recover from pleurisy.
The couple married in 1936 and had four children – Lucia in 1938, Vincenzo in 1940, Maria in 1946 and another son in 1952.
Vincenzo tragically died from meningitis just months after being born. Lovallo’s wife died from leukaemia in 2015 at the age of 98.
During World War II, Lovallo was sent to the front and captured by German troops in Greece in 1943.
He was initially held on the Greek island of Rhodes before being sent to Germany, where he was imprisoned at the Stalag VIII C camp until Russian troops liberated him in May 1945. During his captivity, he was forced to perform hard labour building a railway.
After returning home, he worked as a muleteer and continued working the land for decades.
Following the death of Michele Cicora on 31 March 2024, Lovallo became Italy’s oldest living man. He was the first male from the Basilicata region to reach the age of 110.
After Romania’s Ilie Ciocan died on 27 May 2026, Lovallo became Europe’s oldest living man, as reported by Need To Know.
At 103, Lovallo said the secret to his longevity was a healthy, stress-free life.
And remarkably, he could still wield a hoe and pruning shears at that age.
He continued living and working in the countryside until he was 106, tending sheep, a vineyard and fields. He later kept just rabbits and chickens.
Lovallo never had a driving licence and had no desire to learn to ride a bike, instead relying on a mule to get around.
His family said he followed a Mediterranean-style diet packed with pulses and locally grown fruit and vegetables.
Even into his 100s, he drank a glass of his own homemade wine with meals.
For years, his only medication was a daily aspirin, along with a few supplements.
And he remained fiercely independent well into old age – reportedly shaving himself until he was 109.
His granddaughter Sara Lovallo previously told Italian media about her grandfather’s extraordinary attitude towards life.
She said: “My grandfather loved his land and has always loved life.”
Lovallo had even kept a diary during his wartime captivity.
In one entry, he wrote: “It was a day sadder than death and I really had asked for death so I wouldn’t have to suffer like that. But then I thought: no, no, it’s better to suffer than to die.”
Lovallo’s funeral will be held today (17 September) in Sarnelli, before he is buried in Lagopesole.
Following his death, Portugal’s Joaquim Varela, 111, is now the oldest known living man in Europe.
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