In the quiet, cat-filled lanes of Pagliara dei Marsi, a remote village in Italy's Abruzzo region, a sound not heard for a generation has finally returned: the cry of a newborn baby. The arrival of nine-month-old Lara Bussi Trabucco, the first child born in the village in almost 30 years, has sparked celebration and become a poignant symbol of a nation grappling with a profound demographic crisis.
A Village Reawakened by a Single Birth
Perched on the slopes of Mount Girifalco, Pagliara dei Marsi is a community where feline residents have long outnumbered humans. Its population had dwindled to around 20, emblematic of a wider rural exodus across Italy. The christening of baby Lara became a communal event, attended by every villager. Her mother, Cinzia Trabucco, a music teacher who moved from near Rome to her grandfather's ancestral home, notes her daughter has unwittingly become the village's main attraction. "People who didn’t even know Pagliara dei Marsi existed have come, only because they had heard about Lara," she said. "At just nine months old, she’s famous."
The couple, Cinzia, 42, and her partner Paolo Bussi, 56, a local construction worker, represent an uncommon choice in modern Italy: starting a family far from urban centres. They have benefited from national policies aimed at curbing the population decline, receiving a one-off €1,000 'baby bonus' introduced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, plus monthly child support of about €370.
The Stark Reality of Italy's Demographic Winter
While Lara's story is one of local joy, it unfolds against a bleak national backdrop. Official Istat data reveals that in 2024, births in Italy fell to a historic low of 369,944, continuing a 16-year negative trend. The fertility rate dropped to a record 1.18 children per woman, among the lowest in the European Union. Preliminary figures for the first seven months of 2025 suggest a further decrease.
The crisis is particularly acute in Abruzzo, which saw a 10.2% drop in births in that period. Mayor Giuseppina Perozzi, who lives near the young family, expressed gratitude for their decision, hoping it might inspire others. However, the challenges are systemic. "The entire system needs to be revolutionised," argues Trabucco. "We’re a country of high taxes but this does not translate into a good quality of life or good social services."
The family's immediate struggles are practical: juggling childcare with work in a country where support is chronically insufficient. They also worry about Lara's future schooling, as the local village school has been closed for decades.
Broken Systems: From Maternity Wards to Fertility Care
The consequences of depopulation ripple through public services. An hour's drive away in Sulmona, a maternity unit at the Annunziata hospital faces closure because it delivered only 120 babies in 2024, far below the 500-birth threshold required for state funding. Its closure would force pregnant women to travel an hour to L'Aquila, a journey that can be treacherous in winter.
Gynaecologist Gianluca Di Luigi highlights another often-ignored aspect of the debate: fertility preservation. "If we want newborns, then we need enlightenment too," he said, advocating for education on options like egg freezing, which has faced ideological resistance in Italy.
Midwife Berta Gambina, with 39 years of service, fears "abandoning pregnant women," while Sulmona councillor Ornella La Civita pointedly asks: "How can you give women money to have babies but not guarantee them a safe and secure place to give birth?"
The story of baby Lara is a heartening anomaly in a nation confronting a daunting future. It underscores that while financial incentives are a start, reversing Italy's demographic winter requires a fundamental overhaul of social support, healthcare infrastructure, and economic opportunities for young families.
