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101 year old Anna Possi on six decades behind the counter at Italy’s Bar Centrale
November 21, 2025/
Italy’s longest-serving barista reflects on changing coffee rituals, village life, and her secret to staying strong at 101.
This bar is a bit like family, you know? It does not feel like a bar; it’s a meeting place. People come not just to consume, but to connect. They ask me to pass messages to the town hall, to the doctor. I help with paperwork, errands.
I’m always available for everyone. If someone wants to use the bar to show their artwork, for instance, I say yes. And I do it for free. They’re customers, they give me business. Why would I ask for money? If customers leave something, it’s nice, because whatever they leave me always goes to charitable causes.
Today, however, young people no longer come to the bar. They came when we had the dance floor and the music. Today, they like to spend time with the smartphone; they even take it to bed when they go to sleep.
I tell my granddaughters: work, save, don’t depend on anyone. The world is getting harder.
