Europe | Baby gap

Why there are so few babies in southern Europe

It’s mostly economics

BARCELONA, SPAIN - 2020/04/26: Parents walk with their children on the street during the first day of allowing kids to move out for one hour with an adult.First day on the street, after 42 days of confinement, for children under 14 accompanied by an adult. The rides are limited to one hour and a maximum distance of one kilometre due to the contagion of the Covid 19. (Photo by Paco Freire/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Image: Getty Images
|FLORENCE, MADRID AND VALLETTA

The Museo degli Innocenti in Florence has an unusual name and hosts an unusual display: a collection of small broken objects, mostly medallions. They were split in two when a baby was delivered to Florence’s hospital for foundlings. Half the object, known as a segnale di riconoscimento, was kept at the hospital—in reality, a children’s home—while the other went to the mother. Should she wish to reclaim the child, she would have proof it was hers. Many of the children were born out of wedlock. But others were from families without the means to feed another mouth.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Baby gap”

From the February 18th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Europe

The Russian Army Attacked Kherson With Guided Bombs

Russian trainee pilots appear to be hunting Ukrainian civilians

Residents of Kherson are dodging murderous drones

The “Trumpnado”, a wave shaped like Donald Trump's profile, crushing a boat with a European flag.

Can the good ship Europe weather the Trumpnado?

Tossed by political storms, the continent must dodge a new threat


Demonstrators march, shouting slogans against tourists in Barcelona

Spain’s proposed house tax on foreigners will not fix its shortage

Pedro Sánchez will need the opposition’s help to increase supply


A French-sponsored Ukrainian army brigade has been badly botched

The scandal reveals serious weaknesses in Ukraine’s military command

A TV dramatisation of Mussolini’s life inflames Italy

With Giorgia Meloni in power, the fascist past is more relevant than ever

France’s new prime minister is trying to court the left

François Bayrou gambles with Emmanuel Macron’s economic legacy