At 120 villagers, the mountain town of Gorreto has always been small, but with the only population now at an average age of 60, the village is on the brink of extinction. Unfortunately, this is becoming a trend.
Mayor Sergio Capelli, 72, told Reuters:
"To witness the slow death of the valley makes me sad. I am trying to save all these villages."
The Mayor hopes to attract more people to the villages through cultural events, but with Italians living longer and reproducing less, it may be a futile effort in the long-term.
In the six villages around Gorreto, all the schools have closed, some over 30 years ago, and increasingly harsher winters mean some elder residents have headed to the coast, to stay with relatives. The recent economic crisis also means that Italians feel they need to work closer to, or in, the cities to ensure the keep of a steady job.
"Undoubtedly, it is thanks to immigration that Italy has avoided a demographic collapse over the last 10-15 years," said Antonio Golini, head of the National Statistics Institute ISTAT.
Coastal towns such as Genoa, however, are seeing floods of new people, especially younger immigrants from Eastern Europe, who are finding jobs caring for the elderly or in manual labour.
These unspoilt, traditional little towns may have to be turned into tourist attractions to survive.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
