The family of the forest and a controversial meeting: why La Russa decided to receive the Trevallion in the Senate

The distance of almost three hundred kilometers that separates the Abruzzo woods of Palmoli from the institutional corridors of Palazzo Madama could vanish on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.

According to the newspaper Il Centro and reported by the Adnkronos agency on March 16, the President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa has invited Catherine Birmingham and Nathan Trevallion, the two Anglo-Australian parents known in the news as the "family in the woods", to a meeting. However, no official confirmation has yet come from Palazzo Madama, leaving the appointment suspended between media announcement and strict institutional practice.

The story, which began as a local news episode about a family that chose an isolated off-grid existence based on self-sufficiency and lacking traditional utilities, has quickly transformed into a judicial and political case of international significance. At the center is the symbolic clash between the freedom to adopt an alternative lifestyle and the state's duty to intervene for the protection of minors.

The most drastic action occurred at the end of November 2025, when the couple's three children — an 8-year-old girl and two 6-year-old twins — were removed from the farmhouse and placed in a foster home in Vasto by order of the Juvenile Court of L'Aquila. The judges justified the measure by citing concerns regarding security, hygiene, school attendance, and socialization.

On December 19, 2025, the Court of Appeal of L'Aquila upheld the decision, rejecting the appeal from the parents' lawyers and ordering a technical consultancy, which is still ongoing, regarding the actual parenting abilities.

The situation remains complex and evolving. By late February 2026, the facility in Vasto housing the mother and the three children formally requested the court for a transfer to a location deemed more suitable, indicating management difficulties and accumulated emotional tensions.

Meanwhile, attempts at mediation have multiplied in the area: local institutions and communities have put forward alternative housing solutions to ensure livable conditions and access to essential services (school, healthcare), a necessary condition for a potential safe reunification.

The interest of Ignazio La Russa is not surprising. Already in December 2025, the second highest office of the State had publicly intervened, inviting magistrates to decide in "human times" and "before Christmas", drawing attention to the different perception of time by children.

Meanwhile, the echo of the case has crossed national borders, fueling increasing public pressure: an online petition in support of the family has surpassed 135,000 signatures.