A small mountain settlement called Bolotana on the Italian island of Sardinia may become a new "blue zone" — an area where people live noticeably longer than in neighboring regions and the country as a whole, the website infohub.kz reports.

The five best-known "blue zones" traditionally include the mountainous areas of Sardinia in Italy, the Japanese island of Okinawa, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, the Greek island of Ikaria and the city of Loma Linda in California.

Bolotana lies outside the original Sardinian "blue zone," so the authors of the new study treat it as a separate candidate for that status.

A study by a group of researchers from the United States found that women in Bolotana who live to 70 have a significantly higher chance of reaching 100 than women in Italy and the United States.

Bolotana is a small mountain settlement with a population of about 2,300.

Between 1900 and 1925, 3,060 people were born in the village, 38 of whom reached the age of 100.

In 2024, six people aged 100 or older were living in Bolotana at the same time. That is roughly 11 times the rate for the United States.

The most unusual results, however, were found among women. In 2021–2025, the probability that a woman who had already reached 70 would live to 100 was estimated at 13.83%. By comparison, the figure was about 3.5% in Italy and about 3.6% in the United States.

Life expectancy after 70 for women in the village was 20.85 years. In international comparisons, Bolotana trailed only Hong Kong on this measure.

The lifestyle of Bolotana's residents offers several possible explanations. The village is located in mountainous terrain, and getting around it requires a lot of walking. Many products are made locally, including the use of olive oil. Families often live near one another, and social ties within the community remain close.

According to the researchers, physical activity, diet, family support, genetic traits and the environment may all influence longevity at the same time.

The researchers hope that studying such communities will help better understand why some people age more slowly than others.

Earlier, "Kursiv" wrote about how old the oldest residents of Kazakhstan are and where they live.