Mountain depopulation: why villages empty
How and why Camporaghena and hundreds of Apennine villages lost their inhabitants. Emigration, lack of work, abandonment. And what is happening today.
The peak and the collapse
Until the early 20th century, Camporaghena and the mountain villages of Lunigiana were full of people. Large families, subsistence farming, a hard life but living communities. Then depopulation began.
Between 1900 and 1970, Camporaghena lost most of its inhabitants. Like all Italian mountain villages.
Why they left
- Lack of work. Subsistence farming was no longer enough. Young people sought work in cities, in factories, in services.
- Emigration. Many left for America, France, Germany. Entire families left the village.
- Hard living conditions. Without electricity, running water, heating, paved roads. The city offered comforts that the mountains could not provide.
- School and services. Village schools closed. Without a school, families with children leave.
What remains
Today, Camporaghena has a few dozen residents in winter. In summer, second-home owners, a few tourists and B&B guests arrive. Many houses are empty or collapsed.
But the village is not dead. The B&B has reopened a historic building. The trails are maintained by the CAI. The National Park brings visitors. Something is changing.
The return?
In recent years, there has been a small movement of return to the mountains. Young people leaving the city, smart working, a search for a simpler life. Camporaghena is not yet part of this phenomenon, but it could be.