IMMIGRANTS IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT:

The past and future of the village of Acquaformosa, which sits on the edge of a national park in the mountains of southern Italy, were on vivid display recently in its sunlit main piazza.

On one side, pallbearers carried a coffin into a church, as a group of old men removed their flat caps in honor of their late friend. On the other, came recitations of Italian numbers and days of the week, being taught to a cosmopolitan group of asylum seekers from across Africa and the Middle East in a community center.

But the refugees are not simply temporary guests of Acquaformosa. They may also be the solution to its most pressing problem: depopulation.

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