The Italian hamlet of Canedo has fewer than a dozen residents, but the first birth there in 57 years has catapulted the tiny residential cluster to national fame. Canedo’s newest parents – Luca Truddaiu, 25, and Elisa Nervetti, 36, who gave birth to Marghelisa earlier this month – have become local heroes.

“The community reacted with astonishment, with extreme happiness,” Mr Truddaiu, who works as an estate agent in the nearby town of Stradella, told i. “The mayor has called to give us his congratulations.”