The town of Arzachena, located on Sardinia, Italy, made history by officially receiving Blue Zone certification—”a milestone cementing its place on the global longevity map,” the destination said.

While wellness enthusiasts may already be familiar with Ogliastra, a Blue Zone where longevity has long been tied to centuries of shepherding traditions, just over two hours away, Arzachena presents “a strikingly different story.” After decades of research, longevity expert Professor Gianni Pes discovered that the development of Costa Smeralda has greatly improved local living conditions, contributing to longer, healthier lives among the town’s residents.

Arzachena’s Qualifications

Pietro Mereu, founder and artistic director of the Longevity Fest and director of the documentary Finding the Blue, offered insight into Arzachena’s transformation. “Our working hypothesis is that, until the 1960s, the population of Arzachena was very similar to that of Ogliastra,” he said. “Both populations shared the socio-economic profile of many small Sardinian towns, characterized by a predominantly agro-pastoral economy, a frugal diet, sheep-breeding and subsistence agriculture.

“However, with the emergence of an economy dominated by high-end tourism and related services, yielding per-capita income levels well above the Sardinian average, employment opportunities for residents expanded significantly. This reduced out-migration and attracted in-migration from other parts of Sardinia, mainland Italy and abroad. Consequently, today’s population combines elements of small-community social cohesion with cosmopolitan exposure. This profile probably led to the emergence of exceptional longevity in a context marked by economic modernization, migration and global connectivity,” meaning better nutrition, health services, hospitals, etc.

Expanding Influence

With this development, Mereu expects Ogliastra to become the most important Blue Zone in the world. He explained that “Okinawa’s longevity is no longer the highest—for well-known reasons relating to lifestyle changes in recent generations,” and that Ogliastra’s influence—as evident in the certification of Arzachena as a Blue Zone—is expanding.

The announcement was made at the annual Longevity Fest, which took place 5-7 September. The event gathered leading voices from international scientific communities to explore and debate the topic of longevity, while offering the public access to the latest longevity-focused innovations and solutions.