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L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy,
Before the Earthquake of 6 April 2009 |
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Many of you viewing this page have been, as I have, shocked and horrified by the terrible earthquake that took place in Abruzzo in central Italy at 3:32 a.m. on 6 April 2009, largely destroying the city of L'Aquila, killing 305 people, injuring more than 1,500, forcing nearly 70,000 to evacuate their homes, and leaving some 30,000 permanently homeless.
I have been going to Avezzano in Abruzzo, a city about 30 miles from L'Aquila, for one to three months every year since 1999 and am privileged to have a friend there who is knowledgeable about history, art, and architecture and who has driven me all over Abruzzo, especially in the province of L'Aquila, to see beautiful churches and castles and museums. I have visited the city of L'Aquila a number of times and feel its loss very strongly.
I created this page because it occurred to me that people all over the world know L'Aquila only from what they have seen on TV and the Internet and in newspapers in the days following the earthquake, that is, a city destroyed, deserted, covered with dust and filled with mourning people. I hope with this page to convey an idea of what it was like when it was a thriving city of bustling streets and priceless art treasures. These photos were taken between 2003 and 2007. Click on any photo to see a larger image. The files are rather large, so if you have a dial-up connection they may take a while to load, but in weighing the alternatives I chose to use larger photos rather than smaller ones as they show much more detail. |
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Many TV and radio commentators in the last few days have called L'Aquila a "town." It is not a town, it is a city of 70,000 inhabitants with 99 churches, 99 piazzas, and 99 fountains. The churches date from the 13th century onward, and many contain priceless art treasures including frescoes from medieval times. When the city was founded in the mid-13th century, it was established as a free zone, meaning that serfs from the surrounding area who managed to escape from their masters and reach the city (not an easy thing given the transportation, or lack thereof, available to poor people in those days) were allowed to stay there and became freemen. People arriving from each little village settled together in one area and built their own church, which is why there are so many of them. Now let's start our tour. |
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Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio |
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See postearthquake photo (La Repubblica).
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See postearthquake photo (La Repubblica).
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The Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio dates from the 13th century. It is known for containing the sepulchre of Pope Celestino V (c. 1209-1296), a hermit and holy man who was elected pope at the age of eighty after the College of Cardinals in Rome could not manage to elect a new pope. However, he hated Rome and the Vatican, which he considered to be a den of iniquity, and he never went there, staying in L'Aquila instead. After a few months in office he resigned, the only pope ever to do so.
My friend who is standing in front of the door is six feet two inches tall, so that will give you an idea of the size of the thing.
As far as the state of the basilica after the earthquake is concerned, from what I understand the facade is more or less intact but the nave fell in and the interior, which you see in the bottom right-hand photo, is nothing but a pile of rubble. |
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Basilica of San Bernardino di Siena |
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The interior. I think it's splendid!
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Detail of the ceiling.
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The tomb of San Bernardino.
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A schematic of the layout of the basilica.
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Looking down the great stone staircase.
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And again.
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The Basilica of San Bernardino surmounts a long, wide stone staircase that is one of the symbols of L'Aquila. The church is the largest in the Abruzzo region. It was begun in the latter half of the 15th century; the nave collapsed in the great earthquake of 1703 and was almost rebuilt with the barocco ceiling shown in the photos. As far as damage from this last earthquake, the bell tower was partially destroyed, a large part of the cupola caved in, and some pieces of marble fell off the facade. Otherwise it seems to be okay.
If you look into the distance you will see mountains, plenty of them. In fact, even though L'Aquila is at an altitude of only 2,400 feet, it is surrounded by mountains and is reputed to be the coldest city in Italy. Think of all those people in the tent cities after the earthquake. Many of them had run out of their homes in their pajamas and had nothing with them. In the tents they were given two blankets each. But there was no heating and the temperature went down to -1 degree Centigrade (30 degrees Fahrenheit). The old people in particular suffered. Also the old people up in the hills. Many of the mountain villages are populated almost exclusively by elderly people except for during the summer. They too were sleeping in tents with no heat, 70 and 80 and 90 years old. And there have been many aftershocks--900 in the first three days alone, and some of them almost the same magnitude as the first big quake. Then there was a heavy rain the night of the 13th-14th that turned the tent cities into fields of mud. At night people around you in the tent are coughing and sneezing and talking and crying, so you can imagine that it's been difficult to get any sleep.
Another thing about living in tents: there is absolutely nothing to do. You can't read, you can't watch TV, you can't go online, about all you can do is either sit inside and stare or sit outside and stare. It has been particularly difficult for people with children as all the schools in the entire province were closed pending inspection, as the authorities didn't want any ceilings to come crashing down on children's heads. As I update this page on 15 April, it's expected that they'll be able to go back to school next week. Everyone there is anxious to get back to a normal life. |
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Many thanks to Renzo Gattone, my knowledgeable guide, who has driven me to so many beautiful places and explained the history, architecture, and art of all the places we have visited. Thank you, Renzo! |
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Copyright © Lynn Anderson 2009. All rights reserved. Tutti i diritti riservati. All text, photos, and other images on the Web site www.inmontagnaonline.com are the exclusive property of Lynn Anderson. Do not use them without written permission. If you would like to request permission, please feel free to e-mail me 
Updated 7 May 2009. |
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