Fumarola was born in a town called San Marzano di San Giuseppe in the province of Taranto. She worked in the fields of Taranto until 1989 when she was 100. She outlived both of her husbands – by more than 40 years – and five of her 10 children.

According to a report from one of her great-grandchildren, Fumarola died on 14 May 2003 at the age of 113 years, 163 days. She was the oldest person from the region of Apulia until Maria Giuseppa Robucci surpassed her age in 2016.