Anna Possi, at 100 years old, is Italy's oldest barista. She has been working at her bar, Bar Centrale, since 1958 and continues to serve customers daily.
For Anna Possi, serving customers at her bar in northern Italy and being in the company of others is key. Anna Possi answers the phone in the cafe but immediately asks to call her back. “I have a customer,” she says. It’s an average working day for a barista in Italy , but Possi is in one key respect far from the average barista: aged 100, she is the country’s oldest.
The centenarian, who recently had bestowed upon her the honorary title of Commander of the Republic, is a familiar face to regulars who have lived their lives alongside the cafe as it has matured from cutting edge to vintage. “I’m always working – Sundays, Easter, Christmas. I’m never on holiday,” she says. This has been Possi’s routine since 1 May 1958 when she opened the bar with her husband, serving espressos and cappuccinos to customers. Alcoholic beverages were added to the menu in 1971 when the couple purchased a licence. But it was the jukebox that pulled in the punters. Bar Centrale was the place to be, and its clientele came from far and wide. They came here to mingle, to dance,” said Possi. “With a foosball table too, we were the most modern bar in town.” After her husband died in 1974, she dedicated her life to raising their two children and the bar. “Since Dad died she never wanted to have another relationship,” her daughter, Cristina, said. “She focused on us and work.” Possi described the 1960s through to the 1980s as “the most beautiful years” in the bar’s history. Notable customers along the way included the AC Milan footballers Gianni Rivera and Fulvio Collovati. However, she is not one for wallowing in nostalgia. The jukebox might be gone but the bar has a bookstand, where customers can swap books and read over their coffee. If they call by on a Sunday, they can get a slice of homemade apple pie. “With me still serving, today we are known as the vintage bar,” Possi said
Barista Italy Centenarian Vintage Bar Long Career
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