FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
In Pagliara dei Marsi, an ancient village on the slopes of Mount Girifalco in the Abruzzo region of Italy, cats now outnumber residents.
They roam freely in narrow alleys, enter and exit houses and lie on walls, while their meowing is a constant sound in the quiet of the village, after decades of population decline, writes The Guardian .
But that peace was broken when the village celebrated a rare event: the birth of a child. Lara Bussi Trabucco is the first child to be born in Pagliara dei Marsi in almost 30 years, increasing the village's population to around 20. She is the daughter of 42-year-old Cinzia Trabucco and her partner Paolo Bussi, 56.
Her baptism in the church opposite the house was attended by the entire community, including the cats, and because of the uniqueness of having a child in the village, she has now become the main tourist attraction.
“People who didn’t even know Pagliara dei Marsi existed have come just because they heard about Lara,” her mother said, adding, “even though she’s only nine months old, she’s famous.”
Lara's birth symbolizes hope, but it also reminds us of the demographic crisis that is engulfing Italy. In 2024, births in the country reached a historic low of 369,944, according to Istat data, while the fertility rate also fell to its lowest level.
The reasons are many: job insecurity, mass emigration of young people, lack of support for working mothers and rising male infertility. Furthermore, an increasing number of people are choosing not to have children.
The Trabucco-Bussi couple have a unique story. Cinzia Trabucco, a music teacher from Frascati near Rome, worked in the capital for years before deciding to return to her grandfather's village to raise her family away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
She met Paolo Bussi, a construction worker from the area, a few years ago, and together they decided to bring new life to this ancient village.
Lini një Përgjigje