Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe. The Alto Adige-South Tyrol area has emerged as a parallel procreation universe for Italy.
The province supplements national child allowances with hundreds of euros more per child. It boasts child care programs, including one that certifies educators to convert their apartments into small daycares.. "The family is a long-term project, so policies must be too," said Waltraud Deeg, a former provincial council member and architect of some of its family policies.