By Silvia Marchetti, CNN
(CNN) — In Scanno, a medieval village deep in the wild mountains of central Italy’s Abruzzo region, one woman dresses as if time has never moved on.
At 94, Margherita Ciarletta — witty, fiercely independent and guarded about her privacy — is the last person who wears Scanno’s centuries-old traditional clothing every single day.
Tourists who make their way through the cobbled alleys aren’t just here for the mountain views or ornate churches. They come searching for “Nonna Margherita,” or as locals call her, “L’Ultima Regina” — the Last Queen.
Often, they wander through the village knocking on doors until they finally find her and pose for selfies with her. Yet Ciarletta resists the spotlight. She’s not a superstar, she insists. She’s just a normal grandmother who is proud of her rural roots.
Ciarletta has worn the same style of dark wool gown with long black sleeves and cotton headband since she was 18, she says. “I’ve always liked this dress, I am proud to wear it,” she tells CNN.
For centuries this has been one of two wardrobes worn by Scanno’s women. One, the somber, everyday dress for fieldwork and chores that Ciarletta wears today. The other, a more elaborate, embroidered costume with a richly decorated bodice and hat — which reflected social status — worn on Sundays to church as well as during festivals and religious celebrations.
A few local women still wear the ornate garments during parades and pageants. Only Ciarletta wears the same working clothes of her ancestors, day in and day out. She sticks to the traditional everyday attire, even on Sundays, alternating between several versions each week — some black, others dark blue with white colors.
“That was, and still is, my ordinary everyday dress,” says Ciarletta.
“My husband never liked it but that did not stop me from wearing it every day, both while working in the fields and during festivities,” she says.
‘I do everything on my own’
After her two sisters, who also dressed traditionally, recently passed away, Ciarletta became the last woman in Scanno still living in traditional attire. News of her unique appearance soon spread by word of mouth beyond the village, eventually making its way onto social media.
Local officials are now lobbying to have the costumes recognized by UNESCO as examples of intangible cultural heritage.
Ciarletta was born in Scanno and never left. She has lived in the same stone house since 1950 and, despite her advancing years, continues to manage daily routines without assistance, only occasionally needing a walking stick.
“I do everything on my own,” she says. “In the morning I do all the chores, clean the garden, cook and go for a quick walk. I spend time and chat with friends, neighbors and family. Sometimes I go for walks in the fields above the village.”
She has, however, given up her old daily routine of visiting the local bar for a morning espresso.
When her grandchildren make regular visits, she says she likes to cook handmade sfoglia pasta and gnocchi with turnip greens, a local specialty in Abruzzo, which is known for its rustic cuisine. In return, they help chase away uninvited tourists.
“They’re wonderful, they constantly look after me. I’m very lucky to have them,” she adds.
Becoming a tourist attraction does not always sit comfortably with her. Ciarletta has turned away television crews and, while she welcomes most visitors, and is relaxed about being photographed for Instagram, she once chased day-trippers who wandered into her open doorway.
Her voice is clear, her eyes sharp, her sentences clipped. Ciarletta speaks in standard Italian rather than the dialect which some older locals deploy to ward off outsiders. She is approachable, but on her terms.
“Since I’m the last one wearing this costume, people come looking for an opportunity to shoot a photo with me,” she says. “But sometimes these tourists are too many, and it can be annoying.”
Ciarletta has witnessed huge changes over the years. For centuries Scanno was prosperous, with wealthy farming families competing to build lavish mansions, churches and fountains. Its narrow streets are a maze of baroque, romanesque and gothic palazzos next to humble dwellings that resemble something from a nativity scene.
But depopulation has emptied out the town. From more than 4,000 residents in the 1920s, only about 1,600 remain today. Families left for cities and abroad — many to the United States — in search of jobs and a better life.
‘I’m happy with my life’
She says the life she experienced in her youth has long since vanished. Back then, Ciarletta says she spent her days up in the pastures high above Scanno, tending sheep, collecting firewood, sowing seeds, tending crops and collecting harvests.
“Before we worked hard, now that work has ended. It was a tough life but we were all always together,” she says. The deep sense of community and deeply rooted neighborhood ties have now disappeared.
“I miss some lost traditions, I miss my husband who’s dead, and I miss when there were more people and neighbors and we were always eating together,” she says. “I was never alone. Today I am sometimes alone.”
Despite experiencing the loss of family, friends and a way of life, Ciarletta says she’s neither nostalgic nor sad about the passage of time. She enjoys modern conveniences and the more comfortable life that progress has brought her.
“I have worked all my life in the fields until I was 70, also looking after my family’s farm animals. That was physically demanding work,” she says. “The lifestyle I lead now is way better than my previous one. I’m better off today than I was yesterday; I have time for myself and I relax. I’ve come to discover and appreciate what leisure is.
“I have a lot of spare time, there’s no fatigue, no bodily hardship like before. I enjoy being a grandmother, I’m happy with my life.”
Ciarletta has been outside of her village only a couple of times in her entire life for special occasions, and never abroad.
Unsurprisingly, she’s not planning a trip any time soon. Tourism has just never been her thing.