BIOGRAPHY

Maria Frigerio was born in Caraglio, Piedmont, Italy, on 10 April 1905, as one of the two children born to parents Giuseppe Frigerio and Teresa Costamagna. Her younger sister, Serafina, died at 92. During the Spanish flu pandemic, she was infected twice but recovered both times. She attended school until the sixth grade, and at 11, she began working to help with household and family responsibilities. Later, she also trained to become a milliner.

In 1925, she married Chiaffredo Gertosio, and shortly afterward, the couple moved to Turin, where her husband was invited by his older brother Giuseppe to work at the “La Buschese” pastry shop. They lived on Via Verdi, and from their home, she often saw Umberto II riding by on horseback. In 1937, she earned her driver’s license, making her one of the first women to drive. The license was issued by the Turin Motor Vehicle Department, and for a few years, she drove a Lancia Artena, which she later handed over to the partisans during World War II.

Of her nine pregnancies, she brought four children to term. She gave birth to Dante, who died young from septicemia; Fedele, who was 89 as of 2016; Beppe, who passed away in 2012 at the age of 80; and Claudio, who was 79 in 2016 and caring for her at the time.

In 1937, she owned a children’s clothing shop. Later, she took over the Romana Bass confectionery at Piazza Castello 43. Initially, she managed both the café, which overlooked the square, and the factory behind it, where they produced sweets, chocolate, and confetti. The business became one of the most renowned in the city. After the war broke out, her son recalled how she had to “juggle between the partisans and the Germans,” as both sides frequently stole sugar from the factory. The Germans once attempted to take her husband, but with an act of great courage, she intervened and managed to save him. In retaliation, the SS burned down the house where the family was staying. Her eldest son joined the partisans to fight. After the war, she returned to Turin.

In 1951, Maria sold the factory and took over the management of the University bar on Via Po, followed by a coffee roasting shop on Via San Francesco da Paola. Around the age of 70, she and her husband decided to return to Cuneo, to spend their retirement in the region where she had grown up. During this time, she took up painting, a passion she continued even after moving to Chieri in 1994, following the death of her husband at the age of 93. She even exhibited her artwork alongside the painter Luigi Dellacasa from Chieri.

At 107, she broke her femur but remarkably began walking again. By the age of 110, however, she was using a wheelchair. A month before her 110th birthday, she moved into the Vincenzo Mosso retirement home in Cambiano, after many years of living in Chieri. There, she celebrated her 110th birthday surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Her son, Claudio Gertosio, attributed her longevity to tenacity, a strong will, and a healthy but moderate diet.

RECOGNITION

Her age was validated by the ESO on 19 August 2024.

ATTRIBUTION

* European Supercentenarian Organisation (ESO)

* Corriere di Chieri, 15 April 2016

* “Si è spenta a 111 anni la mamma del capogruppo onorario degli alpini di Limone Piemonte” – TargatoCN, 27 June 2016

GALLERY