Ada Prunas News Today

First published on Sat 8 May 2021 11.00 EDT As if having a baby wasn’t expensive enough, fathers of newborns in the mountain hamlets that make up Italy’s Val d’Ultimo have an additional cost. In a revival of an ancient myth that white storks deliver babies, carved wooden storks carrying a newborn child in a sling are a common feature outside homes in the valley. They are put there by friends of the father and there they remain until he stumps up for a round of drinks. “There...

As if having a baby wasn’t expensive enough, fathers of newborns in the mountain hamlets that make up Italy’s Val d’Ultimo have an additional cost. In a revival of an ancient myth that white storks deliver babies, carved wooden storks carrying a newborn child in a sling are a common feature outside homes in the valley. They are put there by friends of the father and there they remain until he stumps up for a round of drinks. “There has been a...