What’s the secret to a long healthy life then? Well Melis family believe it’s hard work and minestrone soup.

‘We eat genuine food meaning lots of minestrone and little meat and we are always working.’ 89 year old Alfonso Melis said.

Another family member agrees saying, ‘You just keep working and you eat minestrone, beans and potatoes.’

Consolata who is 105, is the oldest of the group with nine children, 24 grand-children and 25 great-grandchildren.

The next oldest are Claudia who is 99, Maria who is 97, Antonio who is 93, Concetta who is 91, Adolfo who is 89, Vitalio whoes 86, Vitalia who is 81 and finally Mafalda who is 78.

Many experts believe that the secret to the Melis’ sustained life is their Mediterranean diet and lifestyle.

Guinness World Records editor, Craig Glenday said: ‘To have such a large number of living siblings with an average age of more than 90 years is incredibly rare. We believe Ogliastra (province  in Sardinia)  likely contains the highest number of centenarians per capita in the world.’

With higher life expectancies and good weather, maybe we should be packing our bags and moving to Sardinia?