Luciano Gulmini got his first driving licence in 1949.

An Italian motorist who recently celebrated his 100th birthday has renewed his driving licence for two years, until 2026, in Italy's northern Emilia Romagna region.

Luciano Gulmini, who turned 100 on 23 August, received his new licence from the Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI), according to the Ravenna edition of the newspaper Resto del Carlino.

Gulmini said that he underwent an "eye test, hearing test, a short interview" at ACI where "they have known me for a long time, they even threw me a little party for my 100th birthday".

"To tell the truth I was a little worried, getting a licence at 100 years old is not that common" - he told Resto del Carlino - "but everything went smoothly and you can't imagine how happy I am."

"My wife Tebe and I can continue to go to Lido Adriano in the afternoon, to the Alessandra beach where our friends have always been" - he says - "It's good to breathe the sea air...".

Gulmini got his first licence in 1949, when he was 25, and bought a Lambretta which he kept for 15 years before exchanging it for a Fiat 500.

Together with his wife, who is four years younger than him, the pair clocked up tens of thousands of kilometres on their travels around Europe, first on the Lambretta and then in the Fiat 500.

"We have always liked to travel" - Gulmini says - "meeting people, a month of holidays a year".

Today he drives to the beach every day with his wife in a 30-year-old Lancia Y which he says is in perfect condition.

Photo ANSA