Demographic analysis of the populations in Italy has confirmed that the number of old people, particularly the very old, is progressively increasing. At present, 92% of the women and 85% of the men reach the age of 60 years, and in 1990, there were 1660 centenarians in Italy. In this study we evaluated the demographic profile of the very old living in Milan. Data were collected by use of the Milan General Registry updated to January 1992. At that time there were 159 centenarians and 166 persons over 100 years (range 101-106 years). Seventy-seven percent of the centenarians were females born in northern Italy who had been living in Milan for over 50 years. Of the subjects aged 101-106 years, 79% were women. One hundred twenty-five subjects were either widows or widowers, 82% had lived in Milan for over 50 years. Only 9% of the centenarians were institutionalized. Our survey confirms previous nationwide data obtained on centenarians indicating growth of the very old population.