The Italian town of Ostana is celebrating the birth of its first newborn since 1987, as parents Silvia and Jose welcomed their son Pablo to the world on January 22.
Baby Pablo, born in a Turin hospital, has brought the population of the tiny Alpine town of Ostana in northern Italy to 85, down from a peak of 1,000 residents in the early 1900s.
Small towns across Italy, struggling with depopulation as young people move away in search of work, are attempting to reverse the trend by offering free houses.
At its lowest point, Ostano’s population totaled five full-time residents. Only 17 babies were born there between 1976 and 1987, and none have arrived since—until Pablo. And even that was a close call.
José Berdugo Vallelago and Silvia Rovere, the baby’s parents, nearly left Ostana five years ago but stayed after the municipality offered them a job managing the local refugee centers.
