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I am afraid that very little can be done. This type of exodus from the villages has been happening not only in Italy but throughout Europe. You will find plenty of abandoned villages simply because people had to migrate in order to make a living. Rural life may be a very romantic ideal; however, it is not easy to make a decent living in the country. People do not want to live and work in the same manner that their ancestors did. Younger generations are more educated and informed and they want to improve their lot. For most of them, village life is not on. Supporting local shops and producers will always help the local economy and, in our case, we consistently endeavour to do so. This is easier in the larger towns and particularly those which have a good influx of tourists and visitors. I have seen villages which are practically empty throughout the year with the exception of the holidays, when friends and relatives come to spend some time. Not everyone has the money or the energy needed to restore and maintain babo's old home. The number of foreigners buying these properties, particularly in the current economy, is limited and also... are they going to remain there for ever? Many people buy an old ruin, restore it, have great dreams about how nice would be to live close to nature and think that the honeymoon is going to last for ever... My advice to these people would be to seriously think about what will happen to them when they get old and need to be closer to a larger town. What will happen when they will be unable to drive. How often are family and friends going to come for a visit once the initial excitement about their move is gone. It is not in my nature to be pesimistic; however, I think we all need to be very pragmatic about  decisions which affect our future. But just as you say, it is most important to support the local economy. 

Why so gloomy?, we are only a few miles from you. There is a new factory going up near our village that will employ more local people, we already have one that our neighbours son works for. The other son is an accountant and works close by. Young �������� friends work locally (I admit after a long job search). Interesting re our neighbouring farmers, their sons are now retiring from jobs abroad and returning home, and are working on the land, how lucrative this will be remains to be seen, but judging from the the number of contract tractors working on the land, they seem to have their act together. Re the old abandoned houses, always sad, estate agent friends advise there is a trend now for ��������s to return to the countryside....abet with jobs in neighbouring cities but what they perceive as a better lifestyle for their family. Marche is still thriving !.

Good question! We have often asked ourselves the same thing. Our immediate neighbours are an extended family group of parents (both now in their 70's and quite infirm), their three married sons (in their 40's and 50's)  who all have  'regular' jobs and who work hard on the land at weekends and during any holidays they take and their, between them, 6 children who are all in their 20's. None of the latter ever venture near a tractor and do no work at all on the farm. They are lucky in that all the children do have a job of some sort. Many others we know in their 20's find it impossible to find a job, some are extremely well qualified and are now looking to UK/USA for employment as the nepotism/'not what you know but who you know' syndrome and lack of opportunity is driving them away. So I am not sure there is anything we can do other than support local businesses but sadly even then it will not stop the change in society nor the brain drain.

In our area employment has been suffering for several years now as Paper Mills and pulping factories close; which used to be the main employer here. A few are diversifying into small time specialised businesses i.e. IT/PC solutions and repairs or trying to do B&B. This area of Tuscany has long been declining in anything other than Tourism, so what we try and do is 'Shop Small & Local' when we can for things like Honey, Meat & Salami, Vegetables and Olive Oil and Wine; in the hope of helping our Community, but for the youngsters here the future looks bleak unless a move to the City is possible for them.