Italy's quake-hit villages fear their homes ‘will be left to die'
ACCUMOLI, Italy — They call it the Green Heart of Italy, a vast triangle of mountains, forests and medieval stone villages in the middle of the country.
But the devastating earthquake that hit this picturesque region last week, claiming 290 lives, has led locals to fear their way of life in the hilltop towns could be gone forever.
They doubt whether the Italian state will have the money and determination to rebuild their hamlets and villages and fear the settlements will instead be abandoned and slowly swallowed up by the forest.
Less than one per cent of homes in Italy have insurance to protect against earthquakes — compared to around 20 per cent in quakeprone Japan — so most families will struggle to rebuild their homes without outside help.
“This is a very small village and I fear it will be left to die. We have nothing now. We have no future,” said Monica Valle, 49, who sat on a plastic chair outside the remains of her house in the hamlet of Fonte del Campo, which sits in the valley beneath Accumoli, one of the villages worst hit by the quake.
“This is not a touristy place; it’s not Assisi,” she said, referring to the medieval town in neighbouring Umbria that was meticulously restored after an earthquake struck in 1997.
Like many families in the quake zone, Valle has moved into one of the large blue tents set up by emergency services. “I’m afraid we could be living here a long time,” she said.
A spectre hangs over the locals who have lost their homes and are now living in tent villages — the fate of the nearby city of L’Aquila, where 309 people died after a powerful earthquake struck in 2009. Despite grandiose promises to rebuild made by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, much of the city resembles a construction site with buildings covered by scaffolding and propped up by girders. About 8,000 of its residents are still living in temporary accommodations.
“After seven years, L’Aquila remains an open wound,” said Accumoli Mayor Stefano Petrucci. “What’s going to happen to us?”
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has promised rebuilding will be swift, devoid of corruption and amply funded this time around.
“We want those communities to have the chance of a future and not just memories,” he said.
But his government faces immense challenges. Dozens of villages and hamlets were hit and the area’s narrow, twisting roads make access hard for heavy machinery. Italy is also struggling under a mountain of debt. Medieval churches, towers and convents have been badly damaged, as well as Renaissance frescoes. Much of Amatrice, where more than 200 of the quake victims died, has been reduced to rubble. Voted one of Italy’s most beautiful villages, it is famous as the birthplace of the dish spaghetti all’amatriciana. Some locals remain optimistic. “No night can last so long that the sun never rises again,” said Amatrice Mayor Sergio Pirozzi. “I am convinced that Amatrice will rise again. We owe it to the people who died here.”