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One Birth Brings Hope To A Nearly Empty Italian Town

In Pagliara dei Marsi, an ancient village on the slopes of Mount Girifalco in Italy’s Abruzzo region where cats vastly outnumber people, celebrations erupted in March when baby Lara became the first child born there in almost 30 years. The entire community of roughly 20 people attended her christening in the church opposite her home, and the nine month old has become such a novelty that she is now the main tourist attraction, with visitors coming specifically because they heard about her. Her mother Cinzia Trabucco, a 42 year old music teacher who was born near Rome, moved to the village where her grandfather was born because she always wanted to raise a family far from the chaos of a city. Lara’s arrival is a symbol of hope but also a sobering reminder of Italy’s worsening demographic crisis, with births in the country reaching a historic low of 369,944 in 2024 and the fertility rate falling to 1.18 children per woman.

Mayor Giuseppina Perozzi said the village has been suffering from drastic depopulation and expressed gratitude to Cinzia and her partner Paolo Bussi for starting a family, hoping it will inspire others to do the same. The couple received a one time payment of 1,000 euros after Lara’s birth plus monthly child support of about 370 euros, but their main struggle is juggling childcare around work since Italy’s childcare system is chronically insufficient. The last time Pagliara dei Marsi had a teacher was decades ago, and the couple worry about Lara’s future schooling given the widespread school closures across Italy due to the birthrate decline. People who didn’t even know the village existed have now come just to see baby Lara, proving that sometimes one small life can shine a light on an entire community facing an uncertain future.

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