Antonietta Franchini

BIOGRAPHY

Antonietta Franchini was born in Sant’Omobono Terme, Lombardy, Italy on 19 July 1914. As a young girl, she worked at the old spinning mill in her village. After marrying Giuseppe Gardinetti, she moved to Montbrison, France. The couple had three daughters, one of whom they lost in childhood. The other two, twins Giuseppina and Ivettela, passed away in 2022 and 2023. During the Second World War, they were forced to leave their home and were loaded onto train wagons, along with their small children.

In 1963, the couple returned to Mazzoleni, a hamlet in the Bergamo municipality, and the following year, she became a widow. Her husband was 49 at the time of his passing. For several years, she worked as a waitress at the “Taverna 800” restaurant in Mazzoleni.

Her sister, Giuseppina Franchini (1 January 1918 – November 2022), known as “Bepa,” passed away at the age of 104.

At the age of 110, she had six grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. For her 110th birthday, a large celebration was held at her home in Mazzoleni, surrounded by family, friends, and special guests, including her doctors, the parish priest Don Guido Rottigni, and the mayor, Ivo Manzoni. At the time, she was still very lucid and had no significant health issues, apart from difficulty standing and walking.

Antonietta Franchini passed away in Sant’Omobono Terme, on 17 January 2025, at the age of 110 years, 182 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age has not been validated.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Antonietta, Bepa e Maria: 308 anni in tre Più forti di guerre e pandemie, con amore” – L’Eco di Bergamo, 19 July 2020

* “I 109 anni di Tonia, scampata a due guerre e due pandemie: «Giovani, pensate alla famiglia»” – L’Eco di Bergamo, 18 July 2023

* “110 anni per Tonia di S.Omobono, la più anziana di Bergamo. Il segreto? “Essere sempre positiva”” – La Voce delle Valli, 19 July 2024

* “Buon compleanno Tonia: 110 anni. È la decana dei bergamaschi” – L’Eco di Bergamo, 19 July 2024

* “È morta Tonia Franchini, aveva 110 anni: era la donna più anziana della provincia di Bergamo” – Corriere Bergamo, 17 January 2025

GALLERY

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