In Pagliara dei Marsi, an ancient rural village on the slopes of Mount Girifalco in Italy’s Abruzzo region, cats vastly outnumber people. They weave through the narrow streets, wander in and out of homes, and stretch out on walls overlooking the mountains. Their purrs are a consistent hum in the quiet that has come with decades of population decline.
But less so since March, when rapturous celebrations marked a rare occurrence: the birth of a child. Lara Bussi Trabucco is the first baby to have been born in Pagliara dei Marsi in almost 30 years, bringing the village’s population to roughly 20.
