The oldest student in the world

91-year-old Leonardo Altobelli is graduating for the 15th time: “It will be the last one, I am the oldest student in the world, but I am stopping now”, he said.

This time it’s a degree in criminology and it is the 15th time that the elderly man from Puglia will graduate. After degrees in medicine and surgery, law, political science, literature, philosophy, pedagogy, agronomy, food science and technology, tourism science, history, biotechnology and archaeology, comes a degree in investigative science. And that’s not all: in his university curriculum he also boasts seven diplomas in social medicine, sports medicine, health law and general medical tutoring. A guinness record for the oldest student in the world.

Originally from Troia, a town of 6,000 in the province of Foggia, Puglia where Leonardo served as mayor in 1984, and where he was a GP until his retirement at the age of 70. A very long career, during which he enriched his studies.

“I would like to leave to future memories of what I did and why I did it”, the man said, adding, “I will dedicate myself to writing, I tell young people to love everything they do, to embrace their work and to do it with a smile. I have always been passionate about studying. That is why I call myself a student of the world’.