Star on Instagram and TikTok: This grandma has three million followers | Life & Knowledge

Silvana Bini had nothing to do with the Internet, she just wanted to bake and cook in her shop – nothing more, nothing less. But her grandson Gabriel thwarted her plans when he came up with the brilliant idea of ​​turning his grandmother – his Nonna – into an Internet icon in her old age.

“He started to annoy me every day with these videos. Wherever I went, he found me,” recalls Grandma Silvi about the beginning of her social media career in the fall of 2022. Today – two years later – more than three million people follow Grandma Silvi on Instagram. Subscribers love their Italian Home cooking and genuine style.

In an interview with BILD, the Instagram grandma talks about her unexpected success and how important hard work, diligence and perseverance are for a happy life.

“You are the grandma of Instagram!”

In the Instagram universe of self-expression, Grandma Silvi stands out positively. She does not try to create envy, but shows recipes that everyone can Italy from her own grandmother. In her hometown of Florence, she is already a star. People keep stopping the 84-year-old on the street and saying to her: “Oh, you are the Nonna of Instagram! Do you know that I follow you? I admire you very much!”

Such encounters, the nice comments under the posts, the performances in front of an audience, all of this “moves and surprises” Grandma Silvi. Nevertheless, she says: “I didn't expect this success, I didn't look for it, and I don't know how long it will last. But that doesn't interest me either. When I get up at six in the morning, I only have one thought: to go to the bakery and get to work with my family. That's how it has been up to now, and that's how it will always be.”

Keys to success: love, passion and sacrifice

Sometimes the Italian woman asks herself why young people follow an “old woman who works like a horse”? But maybe that is exactly why. Because many see the hardworking lady as a Role model for young people.

Grandma Silvi says: “I always say that after love and passion, the third word in my work is 'sacrifice'. The days in the bakery can be long. Do you know how many dinners, lunches and birthday parties I have had to miss over time? At over 80 years old, I have never missed a day of work. And I always ask God: 'Let me work as long as I live'.”

Pursuing a profession that you love is worth it, she stresses: “Because if you don't sow when you're young, you won't reap anything. Today, young people are looking for profit, but what really counts is being at peace with yourself and being happy. Commit yourself and with time – only with time – you will find fulfillment and then you will think that the effort was worth it.”