Christopher Livesay:
Italy's economy has been reeling since the 2008 global economic crisis. The youth unemployment rate stands at a staggering 35 percent, prompting young people to both hold off on starting a family and leave in search of work.
Last year, more than 150,000 Italians emigrated abroad. Factor in the plunge in pregnancies, and you have the only major European economy with a population forecast to decline even further over the next five years.
Take, for example, the town of Acquaviva Platani in Sicily. Today, it has only 800 inhabitants, down from roughly 3,700 in the '50s. Founded four centuries ago, the town's narrow streets and position high atop a hill once made it difficult for invaders to pillage.
Today, young people find it difficult to live and work here, says Mayor Salvatore Caruso.
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