At 100, Grandma Anna or Nonna Anna as she is affectionately known in the picturesque village of Nebbiuno, in the Province of Novara, is Italy’s oldest barista.

Since 1958 (more than six decades) Nonna Anna has opened Bar Centrale at 7am, closing at 7pm during the winter and at 9pm in summer – 365 days a year!

In November, Nonna Anna celebrated her 100th birthday – and there is a sign on her café to prove it, reading La barista più longeva d’Italia (the oldest barista in Italy) as a gentle reminder to her guests of her amazing achievement.

Italy is proud of its café bars and culture, but despite this, many of them which are family run are running out of new blood. There are 132,000 cafés between South Tirol in the north of Italy and Sicily in the south, a decline of 20,000 compared to ten years ago, according to recent figures. The main reasons are the long working days, low wages, high rents and the increased price of coffee beans.

Café bars are an integral part of everyday life in Italy, whether you are in a big city or small village.

Anna, who bought the bar with her husband René, has worked alone since his death more than half a century ago. Her daughter Cristina sometimes helps out, but it is Anna who does most of the work, even chopping wood for her stove.

Italy’s oldest barista no longer has any big plans. “I used to want to go to Paris again. But that’s probably not going to happen. It doesn’t matter: the French don’t know coffee anyway,” she adds mischievously.

Nonna Anna has no illusions about what will happen to Bar Centrale. “When I’m gone, my bar will be gone too.”

She had hoped Cristina might take over, but her daughter has no plans to do so. Anna shrugs her shoulders and gets on with her knitting!