Deaths banned in Italian village

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 Tuesday as saying. ``Unfortunately, two elderly citizens disobeyed.''