Sarah Rainesford
Southern and Eastern Europe correspondents
Italybbc’s report from the Veneto region
Fregona is reducing the population as seen from the mayor’s office
Winding down the narrow main streets of his northern Italian town, Giacomo de Luca points to a closed business. The two supermarkets, barbershops, restaurants, and more are all painted with shutters, signs and signs.
As Italians have fewer children, they move to larger and larger places and overseas, and Fregonna, a cute town at the foot of the mountain, is empty, just like many.
Local elementary schools are currently at risk, and the mayor is worried.
“We only have four kids, so we can’t move on in the new year. They want to close it,” explains de Luca. The smallest class size for funding is 10 children.
“The decline in birth and population was very sharp.”
The mayor calculates that Fregona, a one-hour car north of Venice, has reduced its population to almost the fifth largest in the last decade.
By June this year, there have only been four new births, with most of the remaining 2,700 or so residents being elderly. From men drinking prosecco in the morning, women fill bags with chicory and tomatoes at the weekly market.
Giacomo de Luca is worried about the future of Fregona primary schools
For De Luca, closing school reception classes becomes a trend. If the children leave Fregona to study, he is afraid that he will never look back.
There he tours the surrounding area, visits nearby pizza plants, persuades his parents to send their children to town, and tries to keep the school open.
“I’m offering to pick them up on a minibus. We have offered to the kids stay at school until 6pm. Everything will be paid by the council,” the mayor told the BBC.
“I’m worried. If things continue like this little by little, the village will die.”
National issues
Italy’s demographic crisis is far beyond Fregona and deeper.
Over the past decade, the national population has contracted almost 1.9 million, and births have declined for the 16th consecutive year.
On average, Italian women currently have only 1.18 babies. It is the lowest level ever recorded. This is a mean EU birth rate of 1.38, well below the 2.1 required to maintain the population.
Despite many stories about efforts to encourage childbirth and family-friendly politics, Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government couldn’t stop the slide.
“You have to think carefully before you have a baby,” Valentina Dotter admits that when we meet in the main square of Fregona, she will meet with her 10-month-old daughter, Diretta Kooing.
Valentina is scheduled to return to work soon, and her daughter Diretta will be taken care of by her family
Valentina gets a allowance of around 200 euros (175 pounds) a month in Diretta’s first year, but the government’s new baby bonus for children born in 2025 missed 1,000 euros.
There is also a new tax credit, which will increase your child care leave.
However, Valentina says that she will have to go back to work and accessing affordable childcare is still very strict.
“There are not many babies, but there are not many kindergartens. [places] Both are fortunate to have my grandmother take care of my daughter. If not, I don’t know where I’ll leave her. ”
That’s why her friend is wary of motherhood.
“It’s difficult – for work, for school, for money,” Valentina says. “There’s help, but giving birth to a baby isn’t enough.
“The problem won’t be solved.”
Self-help scheme
Some companies in the Veneto area are taking the problem into their own hands.
A little drive from Fregona to the valley is a large industrial park filled with small businesses, many run by families.
Illinox, a blast chiller maker, discovered the problems of parenting long ago and decided to act rather than lose valuable workers.
The company joined forces with seven others to create a creche that will take you straight away from the factory floor. It’s not free, it’s hugely discounted and convenient. It was the first of its kind in Italy.
Irinox employee Melania was able to use a creche near the workplace
“It was very important to know that I had the opportunity to leave my son here for two minutes, because I can always contact him very quickly,” explains Melania Sandlin, one of the company’s financial bosses.
Without Kresh, she would have had a hard time getting back to work. She didn’t want to lean on her parents.
“We have a priority list too…and there are very few places,” Melania says.
Like Valentina, she and her friends wanted to delay having children in their late 30s and establish their careers. “That’s not easy,” she says.
The growth trend here is another factor in lowering fertility.
All of that is why CEO Catia da Ros believes Italy needs to make “massive changes” to address population issues.
“It’s not the 1,000 euro payment that makes a difference, but they have services like free kindergartens. If you want to change the situation, you need to take strong action,” she says.
Illinox boss Katia da Ross says it’s necessary to make more changes to allow Italians to have more babies
Another solution is the increase in immigration, which is much more controversial for Meloni’s government.
Over 40% of Irinox workers are already coming from overseas.
A map of factory walls dotted with pins shows that they originate from Mongolia to Burkina Faso. Aside from the sudden sudden surge from birth, Catia da Ross argues that Italy (like Veneto) will need more foreign workers to promote the economy.
“That’s what the future will be.”
The end of school days
Even the immigrants were unable to save the nearby Treviso school.
Last month, Pascoli Primary closed the door forever because there were not enough students to maintain it.
A ceremony was held to mark the closure of this school in Treviso, where the number of students has decreased
Just 27 children gathered on the school stairs to meet for the final ceremony marked by alpine insects with feathers in their hats.
“It’s a sad day,” Elenora Francesci said, gathering her eight-year-old daughter for the last time. Starting September, she will have to travel to yet another school.
Elenora doesn’t believe that the only thing that falls in fertility rates are responsible. She says Pascolique didn’t teach in the afternoon.
The principal has another explanation.
“The area has been transformed because many people overseas came here,” Luana Scalfi told the BBC, referring to the 20-year migration to the Veneto region, which has multiple factories and plenty of jobs.
Principal Luana Scalfi says there are many reasons for the school’s fall
“Some [families] After that, I decided to go to another school with lesser immigration indexes. ”
“For many years, there have been lower and lower people than they have decided to come to this school,” the principal suggests tension in English.
UN forecasts suggest that Italy’s population will decrease from 59 million to about 5 million over the next 25 years. It is also aging and is increasing the burden on the economy.
So far, there have been government measures that have only damaged the surface.
But Elenora argues that parents like her need more help with services, not just in cash handouts.
Elenora, seen with her daughter and father, says it’s a sad day to see her child’s school nearby
“We get monthly checks, but we also need practical support, like free summer camps for our kids,” she says.
“The government wants a bigger population, but at the same time, they’re not helping,” Elenora said.
“How can I have more babies in this situation?”
Produced by Davide Ghiglione.
