Along the winding, maze-like streets of Seulo, some of the town’s most famous residents gaze down at passersby from portraits hanging on walls.  They are locals who have reached 100 years old and are celebrated by being made honorary mayors. The tiny town on the Italian island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea has a population of just around 800 people.

Yet, records dating back to 1866 show it boasts one of the highest number of centenarians in Italy – and the world. Twenty centenarians were recorded in the town between 1996 and 2016. Of all the babies born there in 1922, about 43 per cent lived to at least 90 years old.