Residents of a small Italian village over 100 years old have 3 daily habits in common

National Geographic researchers believe they have discovered a new “blue zone”.

A Blue Zone is a geographic region where residents have unusually high rates of longevity and survival into old age. The new candidate for the blue zone is a small village called Bolotana, located on the Italian island of Sardinia.

In a 2024 snapshot, according to National Geographic, 10 of the village’s 2,262 residents were at least 100 years old, about 10 times the Sardinian average and 11 times the U.S. average.

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A team of researchers, including Dan Buettner, founder of longevity company Blue Zones and National Geographic Fellow, set out to study Bolotana’s exceptional lifespan.

The results were published in Frontiers in Aging.

Bolotana’s hilly streets encourage locals to walk as part of their daily routine. (Marisa Montibeller)

Buettner highlighted three lifestyle habits common among longtime Bolotana residents.

1. They move throughout the day: Residents walk the steep streets to get to shops, cafes, workplaces and friends’ homes.
2. They eat a largely plant-based diet: Beans, vegetables, wheat, olives and olive oil are traditional staples.
3. They remain socially connected: Residents gather regularly with friends, family and neighbors for meals, religious and community activities.

“Here, men participate more, and that could explain why women do better.”

The study did not establish that these habits are directly responsible for longevity, but the researchers are examining how the village’s environment and traditions may contribute to its unusually high survival rates.

“The international team of demographers and their population specialists…were able to look at birth records, death records and baptism records and see that this is probably the richest and most comprehensive data on centenarians in the world,” Buettner told Fox News Digital.

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“For those of us who want to reach our 90s and 100s in good health, this place does it better than any other place in the world.”

The largest longevity advantage appears among women in Bolotana, who rank second behind Hong Kong in life expectancy at age 70 and survival between ages 70 and 100.

Bolotana, Sardinia, is home to ancient olive groves. (Marisa Montibeller)

What sets Bolotana apart

The original Sardinian Blue Zone was identified in the late 1990s and formally described in research published around 2000. Located in the mountainous region about 68 miles from Bolotana, it is known for its unusually strong male longevity, according to Buettner.

Although Bolotana remains partly pastoral, it is also an agricultural community. Buettner suggested this could mean men spend more time at home helping with household chores, potentially reducing the burden on women.

Dan Buettner, center, is pictured with two century-old women from Bolotana. (Marisa Montibeller)

“In the original Blue Zone of the Highlands, (women) were worried about finances, raising children and the roof leaking,” he said. “They’re all on their own. Men participate more here, and that might explain why women fare better, because they only carry half the stress load instead of almost all.”

Buettner thinks the village’s strong social ties could be a factor in women’s longevity, although the study did not establish a cause.

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“We see women gathering in the library, baking bread together, baking treats together and going to church together,” he said. “We therefore see a much more socially connected society among the women of Bolotana than in the other blue zones.”

As in many regions of Italy, Bolotana has a strong Catholic tradition. Buettner said church attendance can bring residents faith, social connections and a sense of belonging.

Bolotana’s church culture connects its people to faith and to each other. (Marisa Montibeller)

“It’s a sense of community, but it also takes people proactively understanding that sitting down with a friend and talking about your problems and your day with someone who cares about you is a much more powerful medicine than a pharmaceutical,” Buettner said.

“The human species has demonstrated this time and time again, and Bolotana is a perfect example.”

The Bolotane diet

Diet varies across Blue Zones, but traditional Bolotana cuisine is largely plant-based, with an emphasis on beans, vegetables, wheat, olives and olive oil, as well as cheese and meat.

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“About 90 percent of a centenarian’s diet is entirely plant-based,” Buettner said. “By the way, not protein. They’re not protein loaders. They’re complex carbohydrate loaders.”

Dan Buettner makes traditional minestrone with Anna Maria Filia in Bolotana. (Marisa Montibeller)

A Bolotanese breakfast might consist of a piece of bread or cheese with local olives and a cup of coffee. Lunch, the most important meal of the day that begins in the early afternoon, is “almost always” minestrone soup made with locally grown seasonal vegetables and lots of beans.

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“Beans are the cornerstone of the longevity diet here,” Buettner said. “Chickpeas, lentil beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans – they really are the stars of the diet.”

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Traditionally, residents ate meat about five times a month, usually as a celebratory food.

In the highlands, people traditionally cooked with lard, Buettner said, while Bolotana residents use olive oil from ancient trees.

Giaccomo Nieddu maintains an ancient olive grove in Bolotana. The oil contains unusually high levels of odd-chain fatty acids, which researchers are studying to discover possible links to longevity. (Marisa Montibeller)

Researchers are studying whether the unusually high levels of odd-chain fatty acids found in the oil could impact longevity.

“I’m not looking for” longevity

Bolotana residents are not deliberately seeking to live longer, the longevity researcher noted. The region places little emphasis on gym culture or biohacking.

“These are real humans with an average set of genes,” Buettner said. “They are not superhumans with superhuman discipline or better genes.”

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“They’re not looking for longevity,” he added. “It’s a product of their environment.”

Because Bolotana’s streets are steep and residents rarely drive into town, they usually walk to stores, cafes, workplaces and friends’ houses, Buettner said.

“It’s this kind of mindless walking that is much more important for longevity than going to the gym.”

Bolotana residents trek steep hills for daily chores and socialize regularly. (Marisa Montibeller)

Buettner said Bolotana is an example of how daily routines and environment can encourage movement without requiring residents to schedule formal exercise.

Residents of U.S. walkable communities have a life expectancy three to five years higher than those in less walkable areas, he said.

Centenarians Salvatore and Nina spend time socializing daily in Bolotana. (Marisa Montibeller)

“If we want a healthier America, we need to start thinking about shaping our neighborhoods and cities so that people can unconsciously move around and not rely on another obligation in their busy lives to remember to go to the gym,” the expert said.

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“Most of the things that lead to Bolotana’s longevity are also enjoyable and make the journey a joy,” he added.