Barbania, a tiny town in the north-west of Italy, might just have the highest rate of twin births anywhere in the country: 74 of its 1,600 inhabitants are twins. The town, which nestles in the Piedmont countryside north of Turin, doesn't officially bear the title but, with 37 sets alive today and family trees testifying to generations more, locals believe they have a strong claim to it.

"I don't know if we're the town with the most twins in Italy, but certainly the figures are remarkable," Mayor Giovanni Drovetti told Repubblica at a 'Twin Party' that the town held on Sunday to celebrate its many pairs. "All down to DNA." On average, some 30 babies out of every 1,000 born in Italy are twins. In Barbania, where the current population includes pairs ranging from 4 years old to 80, the incidence is around 46 per 1,000.