Deaths barred in Italian village

Decree issued because the village has no cemetery.

A colorful wreath lies on the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Ala., Saturday, March 3, 2012 after a delegation led by U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., held a wreath laying ceremony at the memorial on the eve of the reenactment of the Bloody Sunday Selma to Montgomery march anniversary. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Since the start of the month it has been illegal to die in Falciano del Massico, a village of 3,700 people some 50 km from Naples in southern Italy.

Mayor Giulio Cesare Fava issued the tongue-in-cheek decree because the village has no cemetery and it is feuding with a nearby town that has one creating a logistical problem about what to do with the deceased.

The mayor told newspapers that villagers are content.

“The ordinance has brought happiness,” he was quoted on Tuesday as saying. “Unfortunately, two elderly citizens disobeyed.”