Terramoto

Courtesy: Wikipedia

On the morning of August 24, 2106, the town of Amitrice looked like this.

Courtesy: UK Talk Radio

Twelve hours later, it looked like this.

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook the eastern slope of the Apennines.

Over the next four months, there would be three more earthquakes and another 3,000 after-shocks.

courtesy: CBC

Before the earthquake, Amitrice was a town of 3,000 people.  Almost one in 10 residents died.

Amitrice has asked tourists to stay away.  Most roads into the town are closed.

As Carol and Roger drove from Pienza to watch several stages of the Giro d'Italia, we passed by a half dozen towns that...18 months later...looked like these photos of Amitrice.

We did, however, stop in the town of Norcia...which was actually at the epicenter of the quake.  Somehow, it managed to avoid the total devastation of Amitrice.



But it hardly escaped unscathed.

50 meters inside the main gate to the old city, we saw homes destroyed by the earthquake.

Even where the buildings were still standing, we could look inside and see the damage done.

Dozens of buildings, ones that could be saved, were propped up, awaiting repairs.

Whole sections of the city were blocked off... labelled as "Red Zones"...where it's too dangerous for people to live.

Twenty-one months after the earthquake hit, crews are still assessing damage... working to see what can be salvaged and repaired.

There was clearly repair work going on, but after almost two years there was more work waiting to be done than work that was in progress or completed.

Saint Benedict was born in the town of Norcia in the year 480.  His statue stands proudly in the middle of the main piazza.

The church that bears his name is tucked right behind the statue, next to the Municipio.  You can see the scaffolding that has been erected to hold up the front of the church.

But when you walk around the side of the church, you have wonder whether there's enough of the church left to be saved.

While much of the buildings in Norcia remain standing, much of its unique cultural heritage has been destroyed.

Unlike Pienza, where the streets are bustling with both tourists and residents, Norcia seems to be struggling to recover its breath after a devastating gut punch.

That's why we give credit to the folks who work at Filli Ansuini de Mastro Peppe...where they have been making cheese and sausage for the past 82 years...and were open for business today despite the setbacks.


We wish them...and all the people of Norcia...well and a full recovery.