Alba Bertoni

BIOGRAPHY

Bertoni was born in Remanzacco, a commune in the province of Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, on 19 June 1904 as the daughter of Giuseppe Bertoni and Antonietta Toso. She had two brothers and four sisters, all of whom she outlived.

Bertoni married Eliseo Dipotti and had three sons: Pietro, Renato, and Ferruccio. The couple lived in San Gottardo, a small neighbourhood of Udine, for a time. Bertoni learned how to cook, sew, cultivate land, and groom animals, as well as trying carpentry and electrics. She worked in the toll booth on the railway line between Trieste, Italy, and Ljubljana, Slovenia.

During World War II, Bertoni was part of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), and had acquired the rank of sergeant.

In 2004, Bertoni moved to a nursing home in Lovaria, a hamlet in Pradamano, very close to her birthplace. One of her regrets was not being able to become a professional seamstress.

Bertoni was reported to be in good health until a few days before her death, playing cards with her son Ferruccio less than a week prior. She died on 1 April 2015 at the age of 110 years, 286 days, and was survived by her sons Pietro, aged 86, and Ferruccio, aged 76, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

RECOGNITION

In June 2014, she became the second supercentenarian to reside in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, after Maria Gravigi (1900 – 2013).

Bertoni’s age was verified by Paolo Scarabaggio and validated by the ESO on 29 July 2021.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Festa a Lovaria, Alba Bertoni ha compiuto 107 anni” – Messaggero Veneto, 21 June 2011

* “Alba compie 110 anni, è la nonna del Friuli” – Messaggero Veneto, 19 June 2014

* “Bertoni Alba” – Messaggero Veneto

GALLERY