BIOGRAPHY

Nora Ettori was born in Rio das Pedras, São Paulo, Brazil, on 5 April 1907. Her parents, Piero Ettori and Regina Comini, were originally from Roncoferraro, Lombardy. At the age of six, she returned to Europe with her six sisters and brother.

She moved between Roncoferraro, San Cataldo, and Asola, eventually settling in the latter, where, in 1935, she married Guido Zaniboni, an employee at a dairy factory who was four years her senior. Guido passed away in 1991. The couple had two children: Arturo, born in 1936, and Emma, who tragically passed away from a fever at the age of 28.

After World War II, she relocated to Mantua, where she lived in a small apartment behind the Cathedral. She remained there until 1986, when she moved to Bancole to live with her son Arturo, his wife Silvana, and their two children.

In 2011, she suffered a severe ischemic episode, and her condition was considered critical. According to her family, doctors believed she would not survive. However, she made a remarkable recovery. Although she required a wheelchair afterward, she never let it slow her down.

Nora Ettori passed away in Mantua, Lombardy, Italy, on 22 August 2018, at the age of 111 years, 139 days.

RECOGNITION

Following the passing of Anna Maria Rosati (4 May 1905 – 27 November 2017), she became the oldest known living person in the region of Lombardy, at the age of 110 years, 236 days. Upon her own passing, she was succeeded by Iolanda Salata.

Her age was validated by the European Supercentenarian Organisation (ESO) on 6 April 2025.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Addio alla nonnina record dei mantovani” – Gazzetta di Mantova, 22 August 2018

GALLERY