L'Aquila Four Years Later

L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo, where I live, experienced a 5.8 earthquake in 2009 . The epicenter was close to this ancient and beautiful city and left 300 dead and 40,000 homeless as well as a devastated city center that remains closed to residents to this day. It's hard to imagine how large and elegant L'Aquila was and the extent of the disaster for residents, students at he university and for the economy of the province. Then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vowed to reconstruct this vital city in six months. Four years later, the only work done is the placement of scaffolding around the buildings.

On a recent visit I marveled at some intact structures or facades while all around was damaged.

There's a heartbreaking photo posted of some of the caskets from a joint funeral.

And handwritten notes left by former patrons on the door of a favorite cafe now closed.

One of the churches had scaffolding on the inside as well and was open to visitors.

It's hard to grasp the enormity of the loss of this capital, this historical and cultural center, this educational and commercial center. It's hard to see it left in this state of abeyance. It has the third largest piazza in Italy as just one of its many piazzas and elegant buildings and villas among its historic places.

Tours are now given to witness the devastation. I could see glimpses into houses, their doors ajar with dishes on the table and photos on the shelves. Residents have not been allowed back. Lives suspended.

There's no shortage of finger pointing to assign blame in the lack of progress in reconstruction. But it's the more personal side of this enormous loss that was evident at every turn. This large and formerly lovely city, the province's capital, with no people. Add this to the strangely elaborate scaffolding and it was eerie and profoundly unsettling.

Into The Mountains

This past weekend was too perfect not to travel to see new vistas so when my Honey and I were invited by friends to a luncheon up in the mountains about an hour and a half from where we live, I jumped at the chance. A tiny village in the Majella Mountains called San Lorenzo di Beffi was our destination. The drive was glorious and we made frequent stops to admire the views.

The last remnants of snow were visible in the rock crevices.

The restaurant of the Inn which was our destination stayed cool naturally as it was located downstairs in an ancient building now remodeled but with its characteristically vaulted stone ceilings intact.

The Inn itself is called La Corte Locanda (The Court Inn) and the original structure was built in the 1700's.

We decided to stay the night and enjoy the lovely grounds and warm hospitality of our hosts as well as the company of our good friends who also stayed over. Next morning we enjoyed the pool and the sun.

The property had many little spots to catch some shade since the day was hot even in the mountains.

We walked around the area and saw first hand the damage done to local buildings in the last big L'Aquila earthquake in 2009 (just before we moved here). The Inn had been renovated a few years previous to it so it wasn't damaged but their neighbors are mostly gone and homes abandoned or unoccupied with scaffolding around them. The Inn and restaurant have been seriously impacted nonetheless since people in the surrounding area comprised a large part of their business.

It was such a relaxing interlude that it felt longer than a day and a half. I came back refreshed and appreciative of my home in this little corner of the world but more aware of how long the earthquake recovery is taking.

The World Watches

When I wrote my earlier post last night and published it this morning, Japan's tragedy hadn't struck. It was a happy, if wistful, post about having fun together. Now, the world watches in horror as the mighty force and staggering devastation of Japan's earthquake and tsunami unfolds. These events put all else in a stark perspective. My heart goes out to those experiencing this unimaginable suffering and loss. I join with others to send prayers and support to those affected.