Supercentenarian Profile

Carla Porta Musa

Born:

1902-03-15

Como, Lombardy

Italy

Died:

2012-10-10

Como, Lombardy

Italy

Carla Porta Musa was a Italian supercentenarian, essayist, and poet.

BIOGRAPHY

Carla Porta Musa was born in Como, Lombardy, Italy, on 15 March 1902. Her passion for books began on her sixth birthday, when her father gave her a small library, which she shared with her three siblings. She was educated at a boarding school in Lausanne and later in England, where her father sent her to learn both French and English.

In the early 1920s, at her home in Como, she founded a cultural club known as the “Literary Mondays” together with her colleague Carlo Linati. The weekly gatherings brought together lovers of literature, including several prominent writers and poets, and continued until 1926. From 1946 to 1953, she revived these cultural meetings at the Carducci Literary Institute in Como, organizing a series known as “Literary Fridays.” Through these activities, she met, collaborated with, and became friends with numerous prominent literary and non-literary figures.

Alternating between writing fiction and contributing to magazines and newspapers, Carla Porta Musa published around thirty novels and collections of poetry. She wrote her first book following a broken heart.

In 1921, she became engaged to Giovanni “Giannino” Porta, a physician from Como and the older brother of Paolo Porta. The couple had a daughter, Livia, who also became a well-known pediatrician. Carla was widowed in 1984.

Carla Porta Musa passed away in Como, Lombardy, Italy, on 10 October 2012, at the age of 110 years, 209 days.