A year has passed since the earthquake of 24 August 2016, which struck Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto. How far has the reconstruction of the historic town centres come?
From the cathedral of San Benedetto to the churches of Amatrice: it is above all for the restoration of these landmark monuments, struck by the earthquake of 24 August last year, that the 100 million euros allocated by the decree-law for the South will be used — funds that will begin to be drawn upon within the next few days.
Following the violent earthquake of last year, which destroyed the towns of Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto, work continues without pause, not only to make the territory and its people safe, but also to protect the cultural, artistic and architectural heritage lost during the tragedy. For while it is true that in a state of calamity people's safety must be the absolute priority, once the emergency passes it is necessary — indeed, obligatory — to take care of their memory and their history too, recovering churches, paintings and historic buildings, so as to prevent the losses from exceeding those already suffered. Taking inspiration, perhaps, from the "Friuli model", which stands as a successful example of reconstruction following the 1976 earthquake — not only efficient and swift, but also attentive to historical accuracy (and the village of Venzone, for instance, is proof of this).
The decree-law for the South has allocated precisely 100 million euros for a comprehensive restoration plan for central Italy, where the damaged cultural heritage sites still number 2,456 in the Marche, 1,150 in Umbria, 742 in Abruzzo and 473 in Lazio.
One year on from the first tremor, interventions to secure artistic and archaeological assets have so far numbered 17,000, with 4,513 linear metres of archives and 9,743 volumes rescued from the rubble. The specialists working on this are more than 600, around eighty of whom have continued working even during this August holiday period.
As confirmed by the secretary-general of the Mibact, Antonella Pasqua Recchia, the financial resources will initially be concentrated on iconic monuments, such as the cathedral of San Benedetto in Norcia or that of Camerino, the churches of San Francesco and Sant'Agostino in Amatrice, the Collegiata di San Genesio in Macerata and the sanctuary of Macereto in Visso. The Mibact will focus primarily on ecclesiastical heritage because it represents the majority of the sites affected and because the public heritage is being looked after by the municipalities, under the supervision of the soprintendenze.
Even though the primary objective would be to restore everything as it was, where it was, every effort will be made, with the means available, to give back to the affected communities at least the original urban layout of the historic town centres. The aim is also to bring tourism back to these areas — perhaps a different kind of tourism, more aware and sustainable, one that becomes (once again) the engine of the economies of the small towns of central Italy.
Because the recovery of the affected territories should, at least in part, pass through this as well.