'Growth and dynamism': Tuscan villages battle depopulation
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00:00Tucked into the Serchio Valley, Fabriche di Vergemoli, a small village in the mountains
00:05of around 770 inhabitants, a fifth of the population of 100 years ago.
00:10This shop is the only commerce left in the village.
00:13We've adapted by offering different services such as mobile phone contracts,
00:17but we also sell tobacco because before there was a bar but now it's closed.
00:21About 50 of the dwellings are empty. This house has been on the market since 2020.
00:30Gabriele, who's 27, decided to leave Livorno for the quiet of the countryside.
00:39He's currently renting with his partner, but now he's considering buying.
00:48He can count on a generous subsidy. Between 10 and 30,000 euros are available to new buyers.
00:55It's an enormous help. Not everyone has the financial resources to allow them to buy their first home.
01:04A very attractive incentive that is offered to new residents of 119 mountain villages
01:09with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. For the mayor, it's an opportunity to attract young couples.
01:15There are currently 10 children in the local primary school. That's very few, unfortunately.
01:20We need these kind of incentives to keep the school open long term.
01:25The Tuscany region has allocated a budget of 2,800,000 euros to this initiative
01:30that has already attracted 1,000 candidates.
01:36We're looking to stimulate growth and dynamism in these small villages
01:42by encouraging small businesses, guaranteeing public transport services,
01:48building community and medical centres.
01:55The programme is part of a bigger government initiative, hoping to inject life into the region's rural areas
02:01so we can see a little more laundry drying in the sun.