There is a village in Italy where more cats lived than people. This village is on top of the Abruzzo mountain range. This small village of Italy is in Pagliara dei Marsi. Cats ruled the streets here. They entered through doors and rested on stone walls. Cats roamed freely in the streets, which were becoming quiet with time.
Here the voices of cats outweighed the voices of humans, because the population of people here has been continuously decreasing for decades. In this village, mostly only the faint echo and growling of the cats' claws was heard. But years later the silence was broken when a child was born in Pagliara dei Marsi. This child was born here for the first time in almost 30 years in March.
According to Italy's National Statistics Agency, only 369,944 children were born in the country in 2024, which is the lowest figure ever. The fertility rate here has fallen to 1.18 children per woman, making Italy one of the lowest countries in the European Union. Initial data for 2025 shows that the situation here is getting worse. No region is facing this crisis more acutely than Abruzzo.
He said that the birth rate in the first seven months of 2025 decreased by 10.2% compared to the same period last year. Pagliara dei Marsi may be a small area but on a national scale it represents a shrinking community, empty classrooms and a rapidly aging population. These are putting a lot of pressure on public services.
Mayor Giuseppina Perozzi, who lives a few steps away from Lara's house, said that the village has lost people from generation to generation. We have lost many elderly residents and no one has come to replace them. She said Perozzi hopes Lara's arrival will inspire others, although she recognizes how difficult such decisions have become.
