[Deathwatch] Antonio Todde, world's oldest man, 112

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Friday January 4 11:22 AM ET 

World's Oldest Man Dies

By Stephanie Holmes

ROME (Reuters) - The world's oldest man, 112-year-old Antonio Todde,
who swore the secret of his longevity was a daily glass of red wine,
died overnight on the Italian island of Sardinia, relatives said on
Friday.

Todde made it into the Guinness Book of Records when he turned 112 last
year and wore his crown of ``The Oldest Living Man on Earth'' with
pride and a sense of humor.

``He was lucid to the very end,'' relative Mariolina Todde told
Reuters.'' He was always joking that he was going to live to 130.
Whenever we had friends round everyone was made to drink to his health.
Red wine, of course.''

Todde's life-promoting tipple was a glass of locally-produced red wine,
made by his grandson on the same rocky hills around the Sardinian town
of Nuoro where, as a shepherd, he spent almost all his life.

Born in a tiny mountain village in 1889, the same year work on the
Eiffel Tower was completed and baby Adolf Hitler took his first breath,
Todde scarcely left the village.

He lived in the same house with his wife of 78 years, Maria-Antonia,
all his life.

He witnessed two world wars, a technological revolution and saw the
world's population quadruple but was unfazed by the passing of the
years.

``His life was very simple but those 100 years, he lived them to the
full,'' said Mariolina, recalling how he liked to play cards with his
friends and go for long walks.

Todde passed away quietly in his sleep after asking to go to bed early,
relatives said.

``His blood pressure fell and he left us without a murmur,'' grandson
Vanni Todde told Reuters.

STUDY ON AGING

Todde's life and those of his fellow islanders is the focus of a
scientific project called Akea on aging and longevity.

A remarkable number of Sardinia's 1.6 million inhabitants live through
a century. Some 135 people per million live to see their 100th birthday
while the western average is nearer 75.

Todde's own family seems a case in point -- his two daughters are 78
and 81 respectively and his sister is 98.

``To discover why Sardinians live so long we are researching the
genetic long-life markers,'' Luca Deiana, head of the project, told
news agency ANSA.

``We have already taken DNA samples from 337 Sardinian communities so
we can look into the genetic and dietary factors that affect long
life,'' he added.

Todde, or ``little Antonio'' as he was known, had a simple diet based
on pasta, vegetable soup, red meat and cheese.

``He ate everything -- the ravioli pasta we would make at the weekend,
the Sunday roast. But he wasn't greedy,'' said Mariolina, grandson
Vanni's wife and a youthful 68.

The answer to the oft-posed question of just how he managed it was
simple for rosy-cheeked Antonio.

``Just love your brother and drink a good glass of red wine every
day,'' he was quoted as saying when he celebrated his 112th birthday
last year.

``You take one day after the other, you just go on.''