Earthquake anger

Early on Tuesday morning, four candlelight processions met up in the large central square of L'Aquila. Twenty-five thousand people, most of them wearing hats and gloves against the early morning chill, crowded into the square, as the names of friends and family who died a year ago were read out one by one.

Then at 3:32, one year exactly after the town began to crumble, bells tolled, 308 times in all, once for each victim.

The earthquake, which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, destroyed many of the historic buildings in the city and left 60,000 homeless. One year later, many of the homeless are still in temporary shelters. Most are in hotels several hours away along the Adriatic coast.

Government failing to meet need

Residents complain the government's reconstruction program has got its priorities wrong. It's built 20 "new towns", with earthquake-proof permanent buildings. But they're on the outskirts of town. L'Aquila's medieval centre, the hub and heart of the town, has been ignored, they say.

The issue came to a head a month ago, when residents charged into the historic centre with shovels and wheelbarrows, hauling away some of the several million cubic meters of debris which have not been cleared since the disaster.

But while the residents complain, the local government and the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, claim that the reconstruction of L'Aquila is a brilliant success to be studied and emulated.

Unkept promises

Fifty-five students were killed when a student hostel collapsed in the earthquake. The rector of their university, Ferdinando di Orio, points to deep divisions over the reconstruction. For example, the government promised 16 million euros to build new student housing, but, he says, the pledge, like so many others, has been forgotten

"You just need to look around to see that this shining example of reconstruction doesn't exist," he complains. "It's failed. The mere fact that 30,000 people are still living along the coast shows the rebuilding plan hasn't worked."

Behind the criticism, many are suspicious that the rebuilding which has taken place has more to do with profit for construction companies than with the needs of the citizens. Confidence in the reconstruction program has not been boosted by the fact that two building contractors are being investigated for corruption; one of them, whose phone was being tapped, is alleged to have been caught directly after the earthquake laughing about all the money he'd soon be making.

Author: Megan Williams, L'Aquila (mll)
Editor: Rob Turner