Torrione

Today I stopped by my mother-in-law’s place to drop off a few things and pick up some olive oil she had in the basement.
The normalcy of that statement comforts me but although life goes on that sentence is far from normal.
Linda’s building, the one she and her husband built in the fifties with 7 other families and where Silvia was born in their fourth floor apartment, appears from the outside to be in good shape. There are just two nasty cracks on the north wall, and the garden has overgrown. But like much of the Torrione neighborhood, it is still off limits. The uneven quality of the cement in the late fifties means that the stability of the building is compromised. But the garage is still accessible to drop of the girls’ old books and toys and pick up a big bottle of great local olive oil. Two of the five liter bottles survived the quakes but will not make it past our summer salads.
Torrione was one of the first big post-war neighborhoods built after the second world war. Just below the Spanish castle, across from the rugby stadium.
The name “torrione” comes from the rough brick tower at the main intersection just two buildings down from Linda’s building. It wasn’t actually a tower, just the last leg standing from the aqueduct that brought water from Gran Sasso to the nearby Roman city of Amiternum. It withstood 2000 years, it’s half as tall now, surrounded by ancient red bricks.
It was once one of the three gateways to the old city and the only main road that crosses the city still passes through. Many of the shops have reopened, but very few people have come back to live - or park there before going to work downtown (with now downtown, why bother?).
The sensation is a mix of optimism (two bars, two great bread stores, and other activities have reopened. Others have installed kiosks in the neighborhood and moved in. My doctor’s office is in a small building and he’s been back for two months. But virtually no one lives there anymore. It’s as though an ember is still burning under the ashes, but the fire still need fresh wood to burn again. How much fire will there be before winter?

Flying in.

Driving to L’Aquila this morning gave me hope. But then it always does, even before. From the hill town of Navelli where we spend much of the summer, past the devastated but once enchanting and hidden Castelnuovo di San Pio. The morning light tinging a slight burnt orange the slopes of Gran Sasso to my right somehow magnify the feeling that it’s more than just the infancy of another day. The road construction and heavy vehicles slowing me down seem just incidental as I move towards where I used to live. 

Hope. 

Helping L’Aquila Soar Again

To everyone who loves Italy,

I grew up in Wisconsin but have been lucky enough to call L'Aquila my home since 2001. My wife, Silvia, teaches Renaissance history at the university here and my daughters, Sofia and Emily are in school. Fortunately all safe after the Earthquake less than two weeks ago although, like thousands of others, we don't know when, or if, they'll be able to live again in our apartment. This message isn’t about us - our car wasn't destroyed and thanks to the hotels on the coast we have shelter and most things we need for the immediate future. I have work to get back to in Rome.

Reconstruction in the long-run and getting people into stable shelter and some normalcy will take time. To date a third of the buildings surveyed are unsafe to live in, and the historical center has not been included in that survey yet. Tens of thousands of people are in the tent communities in and around L’Aquila and many more are guests in hotels like me, or with relatives in Rome and elsewhere.

I have been told that the media in the US and UK have already moved on to other subjects (no Americans like me died or were seriously injured), although many grass roots groups - mostly connected to academia or the Italian-American communities are still very active.

With a few friends, both in the US and England, we noticed that we could help both the people of l’Aquila and the city and region that we love. We started with the first English-language group on the subject on Facebook ( L'Aquila Renaissance - Helping L'Aquila and Abruzzo , http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=66535648631&ref=ts)

We have also set up this petition in favour of L’Aquila and the villages and towns around it: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/laquila-renaissance/signatures.html

For now the group tries to give information on how to donate form the USA (often tax deductible). The list is incomplete.

USA
- NIAF - The National Italian American Foundation have created a Abruzzo Relief Fund & their online donation form is in English. Again here you can make a fast & easy online donation to assist in helping L'Aquila now and rebuild their lives, it's tax free for those in the US.
https://www.niaf.org/relief/Relief_info.asp
Italian Academy Foundation (IAF) has established a L'Aquila relief fund. Additionally, the IAF headquarters in L'Aquila (Bisegna) is open to the victims of the April 6, 2009, earthquake who are seeking shelter. View the IAF website at italianacademyfoundation.org.
Catholic Relief Services http://www.crs.org/emergency/italy-earthquake.cfm
- The Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF) has created an Emergency Relief Fund. View the Order Sons of Italy in America website at www.osia.org.
UNICO Announces Initiation of Fund to Aid Abruzzo Italy Earthquake Relief. website at www.unico.org-
The American Red Cross https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=514161456&df_id=1094&1094.donation=form1&s_subsrc=RCO_link

UK
- Global Giving for Abruzzo - http://www.globalgiving.co.uk/pr/2700/proj2695a.html
- Red Cross UK - http://www.redcross.org.uk/donatesection.asp?id=93852&entrypoint=37220_mainItaly

While no one can argue that the human loss is greater than the cultural loss, I am also worried that during the reconstruction, the beautiful old city will be neglected. If I had talked to be before the quake, I would have spent half the conversation trying to convince you, especially those living in or visiting Rome, to come look at this jewel that so few Americans see but is an hour and a half drive from the Eternal City. I hope to be able to push the city like that again soon.

As always, to make sure things work in the long term it will be helpful that people keep on experessing, through letters and email, to officials in L'Aquila, in the Italian government, and in the U.S. government, the Press and other “piazze” in favor of rebuilding the city and not expanding it. Many of us have seen the result of the "modern urban suburbs" created, some never finished, after similar events, In the long term we hope that this group - and what may grow out of it, can contribute to the future of this city just as the world’s love for Assisi and Florence help their rebirth after natural disasters.

Thank you.


L’Aquila, April 16th

Joshua Lawrence
L’Aquila, Italy / Madison, Wisconsin.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=66535648631&ref=ts

Earthquake in L'Aquila (we are all fine - we were lucky, our prayers for the rest)

We woke up at 3.30 a.m Sunday night/Monday morning to a Earthquake that was 5,7 richter but brought down the entire antique city center, and, unfortunately, many new buildings as well. Me, my wife, daughters and extended family are all alive and unscratched. We were able to save the animals two days ago too. But almost three hundred people lost their lives, 1000 injured and tens of thousands are homeless, at least temporarily. I am staying with relatives almost 100 km away now where we can no longer feel the aftershocks. I thank everyone for their words, worries, prayers and offers of help. I've always believed in people, now I believe in them even more. Even if some "people" are the criminals who built the modern buildings that fell - Abruzzo is seismic but usually this magnitude does not bring down modern buildings if they were designed and built properly.