This morning he was already ready. Boots on his feet and a cap on his head. At one hundred years old, Gino Ibba, from Ilbono, wanted to go olive picking. Then he looked outside. It was raining. And he had to postpone his trip. Waiting for him instead were three students from Sweden (Elin Fryding Månsson and Maya Olsén) and South Tyrol (Lucia Burchia). The Swedish girls, along with their friend from Trentino who acted as interpreter, were in Ogliastra for a university project on centenarians in the Blue Zone and, in preparation for their thesis, came to Ilbono to interview him. Extremely curious to understand, in their own words, what the elixir of long life is.
The interview took place in the kitchen, over coffee. Gino described a simple life: working in the fields, long walks, bread with good olive oil in the morning, soup, a glass of wine. Never in a hurry, never getting too angry.
"There's no secret," he said. "If you stand still, you die. You have to move, work, and love yourself." The girls took notes, recorded, and photographed his work-worn hands. They wanted a formula, and they found a man who, at one hundred years old, gets angry just because the rain ruined his harvest day. The mayor of Ilbono, Giampietro Murru, also attended the meeting.
