Sardinian Town Arzachena Added to World’s List of Blue Zones

Travel advisors with clients who seek out wellness destinations, and particularly Blue Zone vacations, have a new spot to place on their clients’ radar: Arzachena in Sardinia, Italy, which was officially recognized as a Blue Zone during this year’s Longevity Fest.

Arzachena is located just 2.5 hours away from Ogliastra, one of the world’s most well-known Blue Zones. Where Ogliastra’s longevity is tied to centuries of shepherding traditions, in Arzachena it’s a most recent phenomenon.

“Research in Arzachena does not stop here,” said longevity expert Professor Gianni Pes. “The data we’ve gathered are just the beginning. We’re already preparing the first scientific publications to share these insights with the international community and expand the horizons of longevity research.”

According to Professor Pes, development of the Costa Smeralda (a 35-mile stretch of coastline in northeastern Sardinia) has greatly improved local living conditions, contributing to longer, healthier lives among the town’s residents.

“Our working hypothesis is that, until the 1960s, the population of Arzachena was very similar to that of Ogliastra,” said Pietro Mereu, founder and artistic director of the Longevity Fest and director of the documentary “Finding the Blue.”

“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… This profile probably led to the emergence of exceptional longevity in a context marked by economic modernization, migration, and global connectivity (better nutrition, health services, hospitals, etc.).”