'The village will die' - Italy looks for answers to decline in number of babies

In the picturesque town of Fregona in northern Italy, the effects of a declining birthrate are becoming painfully clear. Mayor Giacomo de Luca walks through the quiet streets, pointing out the many businesses that have closed their doors—supermarkets, a barbershop, and restaurants, all now empty. The town, which sits at the base of the mountains, is losing people as families have fewer children and many residents move to larger cities or even leave the country. The local primary school is now at risk of closing because only four children are set to start the new school year, far below the ten needed to keep the class open. The mayor is deeply concerned that if the school closes, families will leave Fregona for good, and the town will continue to shrink. He has been working hard to keep the school open, offering to pick up children with a minibus and allowing them to stay at school until six in the evening, all paid for by the town council. He fears that if things do not change, the village could eventually disappear.

This is not just a problem for Fregona. Across Italy, the population is shrinking as the birthrate continues to fall. In the past decade, Italy has lost nearly 1. 9 million people, and the number of births has dropped for sixteen years in a row. Italian women now have an average of just 1. 18 children, which is below the European Union average and much less than the 2. 1 needed to keep the population stable. The government has tried to encourage families to have more children by offering financial support, tax breaks, and longer parental leave. However, many parents say these measures are not enough. Valentina, a mother in Fregona, receives a small monthly allowance for her baby but missed out on a larger bonus because her child was born before the new law started. She says finding affordable childcare is still very difficult, and she is lucky her grandmother can help. Many of her friends are hesitant to have children because of the challenges with work, schools, and money.

Some companies in the Veneto region are taking action themselves. Irinox, a company that makes blast chillers, joined with other businesses to create a daycare center near the factory. This makes it easier for parents like Melania, who works in finance at Irinox, to return to work after having a child. She says having the daycare so close was very important, as she did not want to rely on her own parents and state-run kindergartens do not offer full-day care. Melania and her friends waited until their late 30s to have children, wanting to focus on their careers first. The CEO of Irinox, Katia da Ros, believes Italy needs major changes, such as free kindergartens, to help families. She also points out that many workers at her company are from other countries, and she thinks Italy will need more immigrants to keep its economy strong. In nearby Treviso, a primary school recently closed because there were not enough students. Some parents say the government needs to provide more practical support, like free summer camps, not just money. They worry that without more help, it will be too difficult for families to have more children, and small towns like Fregona will continue to fade away.