BIOGRAPHY

Olga Covili was born in Barge, Piedmont, Italy, on 24 February 1910. She moved to France when she was around 7 or 8 years old. Initially, the family lived in Grasse in Alpes-Maritimes. She started working at a very young age, taking on jobs such as picking jasmine in Pégomas. She grew up with four sisters and a brother — Antoinette, Henriette, Françoise, Charlotte, and Louis — in the Grasse region.

As a young woman, every Saturday she went dancing at the Moulin in Cannes-La Bocca. It was there, in 1931, that she met Victor Covili, who would become her husband a year later. Together, they had a son, Marcel. For almost 30 years, she worked as a caddy at the Mandelieu and Biot golf courses. Later, she worked as a governess in a villa in Pibonson, in the commune of Mougins, where her husband worked as a gardener.

Even at nearly 80 years old, she babysat her great-grandchildren. In 2001, her husband passed away at the age of 92. Around 2014, she moved into a nursing home. During her latter years, she was bedridden.

Olga Covili passed away in Le Cannet, Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France, on 11 January 2021.

RECOGNITION

Her age was validated by the European Supercentenarian Organisation (ESO) on 2 April 2024, but it has yet to be recognized by LongeviQuest.

ATTRIBUTION

* “La nouvelle doyenne des Alpes-Maritimes? On vous présente Olga Covili, qui célèbre ses 110 ans ce lundi” – Nice-Matin, 24 February 2020

GALLERY