The world is mourning the death of the officially-recognized oldest man, Arturo Licata, who passed away inside his humble home in Italy on 24 April at the age of 111.

Licata died of natural causes, authorities in Sicily said.

Licata, who lives in the Enna, Italy, was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest man in the world on 28 February, although a Japanese woman is considered as the world's oldest living person at the age of 116.

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Records showed that Licata was born on 2 May 1902. He was officially recognized as the world's oldest living male after the passing of Salustiano Sanchez, who died in 2013 at the age of 112 years.

No clear records of Licata's diet and lifestyle have been made public but he was widely covered by the media in Italy, as his recognition as the world's oldest living male person drew public attention in a country that has pride itself as having a healthy living philosophy.

Licata was gifted with four sons and three daughters. It was not clear though if all his children are still living. He was born in Sicily and had four brothers and two sisters.

People who have chronicled the life of Licata said it was not an easy life that the world's oldest man had. At the age of 9, he was forced to work in a sulphur mine, where he spent 20 years of his life.

He also joined the Italian army in 1921 and married his wife Rosa in 1929. Rosa died in 1980 when Licata was 78 years old. He never left the old center of Enna, his place of birth, until he died on 24 April.

Although there have been a lot of super-centenarians who claimed to live older than Licata, the prestigious Guinness World Records handed the recognition to the Italian man because he was able to provide complete proof of his birth, identity and life.

"He was able to submit documents to prove his age," said Robert Young, senior gerontology consultant of Guinness.