A family of five was living off-grid in a remote cabin in central Italy. Then the courts intervened

A couple who moved to Italy to raise their family off the grid are fighting to get their children back after an Italian court removed them over health fears.

The self-described idyllic life of a family of five living in an Italian forest with horses, donkeys and chickens has stalled after a court ordered the children be removed and placed in foster care.

Patrol cars were dispatched to remove the children from their home in Abruzzo to a church-run care facility. The mother is staying at the same premise but the parents have limited access to the children, their family lawyer said.

The fate of the children, known in Italian as the Bimbi nel Bosco or kids in the woods, has captivated the country. Tens of thousands of people have signed an online petition to reunite the family.

The parents, Nathan Trevallion, a 51-year-old British former professional chef, and Catherine Birmingham, a 45-year-old Australian life coach and former equestrian trainer, were named in an order issued by a L’Aquila court as parents of the children – one eight-year-old and six-year-old twins.

“The family unit lives in housing hardship as the building has not been declared habitable,” the order states. “The members of the Trevallion family have no social interaction, no fixed income, the home has no toilet facilities, and the children do not attend school. The order is based on the risk of violating the right to social life in consideration of the serious and harmful violations of the children’s rights to physical and mental integrity the parents should be suspended from parental responsibility.”

Giovanni Angelucci, the family’s lawyer, says the family heats the home with fireplaces and uses solar panels for light and to charge their devices. The family removed running water to avoid microplastics as well as costs and instead draws fresh water from a well on the property. They don’t have an indoor toilet but instead use an outdoor composting toilet.

The family’s living situation came to light in September 2024 after all five were hospitalized for poisoning after eating wild mushrooms from the forest. After that time, the family was visited by social service officials and law enforcement, but their lawyer said they did not comply with recommendations to have the children receive regular medical care and attend schools.

Trevallion told local media at the time he was shocked by the decision. “They are happy, smell good, well-mannered, and well-fed; why break this bond?” he said Friday, according to La Repubblica newspaper. CNN reached out to the family via Birmingham’s website, which advises that they don’t check electronic communications often.

Angelluci said the family will appeal the decision next week.

Birmingham runs a life coaching and energy reading business, according to her website, which is filled with images of animals and the children – photos the court order said violated the children’s privacy and were posted only to show the appearance of a normal living situation after the social services’ investigation began.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her deputy Matteo Salvini have both criticized the court decision. Meloni, who said the removal of the children was “alarming,” has called the Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio over the case, according to her spokesman.

Salvini, who plans to visit the family home next week, told reporters at the Venice Bienniele on Friday that it was “shameful that the State is concerned with private education and the personal life choices of two parents who found Italy a hospitable country, yet it steals their children.”

The family purchased the home in 2021, at which time Birmingham wrote on her website, “Recently we found our dream forever home. … With the energy of the place being very special, we bring people to stay for healing and awakening, connecting to the wild, without and within, eating home grown and home cooked organic vegan food.”

Giuseppe Masciulli, the mayor of nearby Palmoli, also condemned the removal of the children. “I’m a father myself, so I was deeply shocked by the situation,” he told CNN, adding that he believed the situation could be resolved if the family promises to meet certain requirements, including reinstalling running water and meeting with the local school on a weekly basis to assess the children’s academic progress.