Born on October 29, 1901, Ms Vela Rubio passed away peacefully at her nursing home in Barcelona on Friday.
She was Europe’s oldest resident and the third-oldest person in the world, according to the international Gerontology Research Group.
Her death makes Ms Projetto, who turns 116 on May 30, the oldest person in Europe.
Born on the southern Italian island of Sardinia in 1902, Ms Projetto is the third oldest person alive in the world today, after two Japanese women born in 1900 and 1901.
According to media reports, Ms Projetto lives with her descendants in the family home in Montelupo Fiorentino, near Florence, and swears by eating chocolate.
She is one of tens of thousands of Italians to live beyond 100 years old.
Italy’s Emma Morano, the last living person born in the 19th century, died in April aged 117.
She held the title of the oldest person in the world in the Guinness World Records.
