‘Vanishing like glaciers’: plunging birthrate threatens Italian schools

With one of the lowest fertility rates in the EU and fewer women to have children, classrooms are emptying and the future of communities is in doubt

For centuries, the infant school in Champorcher, in the Aosta Valley, has been an integral component of the community, with the sound of children's voices in the playground providing a beacon of hope for the mountain village's survival.

In September last year, however, the school fell eerily silent. It was forced to close after just two pupils enrolled.