LAVIANO, Italy — Angelina Spiotta had always wanted to be a mother. Married a year, she figured it was time. It didn't hurt that her local government was offering parents nearly $14,000 for every baby delivered in this struggling southern town.
Spiotta gave birth to little Massimo late last fall, "not because of the money," she said, "but the money is a help. It helps for the future."
Across Italy, towns are dying, and like the canary in the coal mine, these small deaths are a sign of what could happen to the country as a whole if its birthrate doesn't climb. As it stands, Italy's population could shrink by a third by 2050; until now, only an influx of immigrants has kept the numbers stable.
The stereotype of the large Italian family in this heavily Roman Catholic country is a thing of the past. For nearly a decade, Italy has had one of the lowest birthrates in the world. Many Italian women, citing primarily economic reasons, forgo bearing offspring altogether or, at most, have just one child.
So the town of Laviano is looking for bambini.
Authorities are offering women money to give birth, part of a campaign to maintain the population and attract newcomers.
"I know someone doesn't have a baby just because of the money," Mayor Rocco Falivena said. "But maybe this will keep some people from leaving, or make them think twice about leaving. We thought we could sound an alarm. Do something provocative."
The money is given to parents over the first five years of the child's life. About 20 couples have availed themselves of the bonus since Falivena introduced the idea in 2003.
When he became mayor the year before, he assumed leadership of a dispirited burg. Since an earthquake nearly destroyed Laviano in 1980, the town's population had dropped by half, to about 1,500. Only four babies were born in 2000, followed by the same number in 2001.
"I realized it was the end of the village," Falivena said.
It's too soon, and the numbers are too small, to speak of trends. But Falivena, 52, likes what he is seeing: Eleven babies were born last year, and residents said they knew of a handful of people who had moved to Laviano from neighboring towns to take advantage of the payout.
Experts are less encouraging. The few studies available indicate that a cash incentive might encourage a woman to have a baby earlier than she had planned but won't encourage her to have more children than she otherwise would have.
