Italy tackles rural exodus

Italy is famous for its beautiful countryside full of hilly landscapes, breathtaking panoramas, and picturesque hamlets. But small towns and villages are dying out due to lack of jobs and poor infrastructure, driving people to leave. As a result, more Italians are migrating to big cities, and every year around 200,000 leave to go abroad.

In the coming years, some 2,500 places could become ghost towns, although the Coronavirus pandemic has slowed this development. In this eye-opening documentary, viewers will witness the struggle of small towns in Italy trying to repopulate and revive themselves. They’ll see how mayors like Stefano Farina of Teora in Campania are paying newcomers’ rent for two years if they enroll their children in the local school. The documentary will showcase the journeys of families like the Greenwoods who left Manchester, UK, to start anew in Teora. Mussomeli in Sicily is also highlighted, where they’re selling abandoned homes in their old town for just one euro.