The Frame: Earthquake in Italy Earthquake in Italy L'AQUILA, Italy (AP) -- A powerful earthquake in mountainous central Italy knocked down whole blocks of buildings early Monday as residents slept, killing more than 70 people in the country's deadliest quake in nearly three decades, officials said. Tens of thousands were homeless and 1,500 were injured. Ambulances screamed through the medieval city L'Aquila as firefighters with dogs worked feverishly to reach people trapped in fallen buildings, including a dormitory where half a dozen university students were believed still inside. Outside the half-collapsed building, tearful young people huddled together, wrapped in blankets, some still in their slippers after being roused from sleep by the quake. Dozens managed to escape as the walls fell around them. L'Aquila, capital of the Abruzzo region, was near the epicenter about 70 miles northeast of Rome.

(29 images) updated 6:30 p.m., April 6 Follow The Frame on Twitter at sacbee_theframe Police, volunteers and rescuers work on a collapsed house on April 6, 2009 in the center of the Abruzzo capital L'Aquila, the epicenter of an earthquake measuring 5.8-magnitude on the open-ended Richter scale. At least 27 people were killed in an earthquake that struck central Italy as most people lay sleeping early on April 6, and the death toll was rising steadily after many homes collapsed in the Abruzzo region. AFP / Getty Images / Vincenzo Pinto MORE IMAGES Two men hug each other as people and volunteers stand amidst debris in the city of L'Aquila, after a strong earthquake rocked central Italy early Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake struck central Italy early Monday, killing at least 16 people, collapsing buildings and leaving thousands of people homeless, officials and news reports said. Officials said the death toll was likely to rise as rescue crews made their way through the debris.

AP / Pier Paolo Cito Rescuers carry a stretcher in the village of Onna, central Italy, Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake in mountainous central Italy knocked down whole blocks of buildings early Monday as residents slept, killing at least 50 people and trapping many more, officials said. AP / Sandro Perozzi Rescuers at work following a strong earthquake, in the village of Onna, central Italy, Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake in mountainous central Italy knocked down whole blocks of buildings early Monday as residents slept, killing at least 50 people and trapping many more, officials said. The earthquake's epicenter was about 70 miles (110 kilometers) northeast of Rome near the medieval city of L'Aquila. It struck at 3:32 a.m. local time (0132 GMT, EDT Sunday) in a quake-prone region that has had at least nine smaller jolts since the beginning of April.

AP / Sandro Perozzi Cars are covered with debris and rubble following a strong earthquake, in the village of Onna, central Italy, Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake in mountainous central Italy knocked down whole blocks of buildings early Monday as residents slept, killing at least 50 people and trapping many more, officials said. The earthquake's epicenter was about 70 miles (110 kilometers) northeast of Rome near the medieval city of L'Aquila. It struck at 3:32 a.m. local time (0132 GMT, EDT Sunday) in a quake-prone region that has had at least nine smaller jolts since the beginning of April. AP / Sandro Perozzi A doctors unpacks a rescue pack beside a collapsed building in the centre of L'Aquila on April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake tore through central Italy devastating historic mountain towns and killing at least 40 people, authorities said.

AFP / Getty Images / Filippo Monteforte Antonello Colangeli reacts as rescuers work to remove his son Giulio from the rubbles, in the city of L'Aquila, after a strong earthquake rocked central Italy, early Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake struck central Italy early Monday, killing at least 20 people, collapsing buildings and leaving thousands of people homeless, officials and news reports said. AP / Pier Paolo Cito Giulio Colangeli is carried away by rescuers as his father Antonello, center, grey hair, reacts, in the city of L'Aquila, after a strong earthquake rocked central Italy, early Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake struck central Italy early Monday, killing at least 20 people, collapsing buildings and leaving thousands of people homeless, officials and news reports said. AP / Pier Paolo Cito A couple stand in rubble in rubble on April 6, 2009 in the center of the Abruzzo capital L'Aquila, the epicenter of an earthquake measuring 5.8-magnitude on the open-ended Richter scale.

At least 20 people were killed in an earthquake that struck central Italy as most people lay sleeping early on April 6, and the death toll was rising steadily after many homes collapsed in the Abruzzo region. AFP / Getty Images / Vincenzo Pinto Rescue workers look for survivors in the ruins of a collapsed house on April 6, 2009 in the center of the Abruzzo capital L'Aquila, the epicenter of an earthquake measuring 5.8-magnitude on the open-ended Richter scale. At least 20 people were killed in an earthquake that struck central Italy as most people lay sleeping early on April 6, and the death toll was rising steadily after many homes collapsed in the Abruzzo region. AFP / Getty Images / Filippo Monteforte Rescuers search April 6 for trapped people under the ruins of a collapsed house in the center of the Abruzzo capital L'Aquila, the epicenter of an earthquake measuring 5.8-magnitude on the open-ended Richter scale.

At least 20 people were killed in an earthquake that struck central Italy as most people lay sleeping early on April 6, and the death toll was rising steadily after many homes collapsed in the Abruzzo region. AFP / Getty Images / Vincenzo Pinto A woman receives assistance in the city of L'Aquila, after a strong earthquake rocked central Italy early Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake struck central Italy early Monday, killing at least 16 people, collapsing buildings and leaving thousands of people homeless, officials and news reports said. Officials said the death toll was likely to rise as rescue crews made their way through the debris. AP / Pier Paolo Cito Fireworkers rescue a student from the student's house in L'Aquila on April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake jolted central Italy on Monday, devastating mountain towns and killing at least 27 people, authorities said. Emergency services scrambled to rescue people trapped under thousands of collapsed homes and buildings in the Abruzzo capital L'Aquila and nearby towns in the Apennine mountains that run down central Italy.

AFP / Getty Images / Vincenzo Pinto Police officers comfort residents on April 6, 2009 in the center of the Abruzzo capital L'Aquila, the epicenter of an earthquake measuring 5.8-magnitude on the open-ended Richter scale. At least 20 people were killed in an earthquake that struck central Italy as most people lay sleeping early on April 6, and the death toll was rising steadily after many homes collapsed in the Abruzzo region. AFP / Getty Images / Filippo Monteforte Luigi d'Andrea, 20, collects belongings in his destroyed appartment in D'Aquila, 110 km from Rome on April 6, 2009 following an earthquake measuring 5.8-magnitude on the open-ended Richter scale. At least 27 people were killed in an earthquake that struck central Italy as most people lay sleeping early on April 6, and the death toll was rising steadily after many homes collapsed in the Abruzzo region. AFP / Getty Images / Christophe Simon Patients are treated outside the St.Salvatore Hospital, in L'Aquila, central Italy, Monday, April 6, 2009.

A powerful earthquake struck central Italy early Monday, killing at least 20 people, causing entire blocks of buildings to collapse as residents slept inside and leaving thousands of people homeless, officials said. Parts of L'Aquila's main hospital was evacuated because it was at risk of collapse, forcing the wounded to be treated in the open air or taken elsewhere. AP / Gregorio Borgia Patients are treated outside the St. Salvatore Hospital, in L'Aquila, central Italy, Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake struck central Italy early Monday, killing at least 20 people, causing entire blocks of buildings to collapse as residents slept inside and leaving thousands of people homeless, officials said. Parts of L'Aquila's main hospital were evacuated because they were at risk of collapse, forcing the wounded to be treated in the open air or taken elsewhere. AP / Gregorio Borgia Patients are treated outside St. Salvatore Hospital, in L'Aquila, central Italy, Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake struck central Italy early Monday, killing at least 20 people, causing entire blocks of buildings to collapse as residents slept inside and leaving thousands of people homeless, officials said.

Parts of L'Aquila's main hospital were evacuated because they were at risk of collapse, forcing the wounded to be treated in the open air or taken elsewhere. AP / Gregorio Borgia Patients are treated outside the St. Salvatore Hospital, in L'Aquila, central Italy, Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake struck central Italy early Monday, killing at least 20 people, causing entire blocks of buildings to collapse as residents slept inside and leaving thousands of people homeless, officials said. Parts of L'Aquila's main hospital was evacuated because it was at risk of collapse, forcing the wounded to be treated in the open air or taken elsewhere. AP / Gregorio Borgia Patients are treated outside the St.Salvatore Hospital, in L'Aquila, central Italy, Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake struck central Italy early Monday, killing at least 20 people, causing entire blocks of buildings to collapse as residents slept inside and leaving thousands of people homeless, officials said. Parts of L'Aquila's main hospital was evacuated because it was at risk of collapse, forcing the wounded to be treated in the open air or taken elsewhere.

AP / Gregorio Borgia Relatives stand near coffins in Onna, in central Italy, on April 6, 2009 after a powerful earthquake tore through central Italy killing at least 92 people. More than 1,700 rescuers scrambled to find victims trapped under collapsed dwellings in L'Aquila, the quake's epicentre, some 10 km from Onna. Officials warned the toll would rise. AFP / Getty Images / Vincenzo Pinto Photo released by the Italian Guardia Forestale (Forestry Police Force) showing an aerial view of the destruction in the city of L'Aquila, central Italy, Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake in mountainous central Italy knocked down whole blocks of buildings early Monday as residents slept, killing more than 90 people in the country's deadliest quake in nearly three decades, officials said. Tens of thousands were homeless and 1,500 were injured. AP / Guardia Forestale / handout Rescue workers search for bodies amongst the rubble of a destroyed building on April 6, 2009 in L'Aquila, Italy.

The 6.3 magnitude earthquake tore through central Italy, devastating historic mountain towns, killing at least 90 people and injuring some 1500. Getty Images / Marco Di Lauro A view of a damaged house in the village of Castelnuovo, central Italy, following a strong earthquake, Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake in mountainous central Italy knocked down whole blocks of buildings early Monday as residents slept, killing more than 70 people in the country's deadliest quake in nearly three decades, officials said. Tens of thousands were homeless and 1,500 were injured. AP / Alessandro Tarantino A building is damaged after an earthquake on April 6, 2009 in L'Aquila, Italy. The 6.3 magnitude earthquake tore through central Italy, devastating historic mountain towns, killing at least 150 people and injuring 1500. Getty Images / Marco Di Lauro Rescue workers search for trapped people on a damaged building after an earthquake on April 6, 2009 in L'Aquila, Italy.

The 6.3 magnitude earthquake tore through central Italy, devastating historic mountain towns, killing at least 150 people and injuring 1500. Getty Images / Marco Di Lauro People evacuated from their homes, protect themselves from the rain with a blanket, in the Abruzzo capital L'aquila, epicentre of an earthquake earlier in the day on April 6, 2009. A violent earthquake jolted central Italy killing at least 100 people and injuring 1,500 as buildings and homes in the walled medieval town of L'Aquila were reduced to rubble. AFP / Getty Images / Mario Laporta People line up for food in the tent-camp set up after a major earthquake in L 'Aquila central Italy, Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake in mountainous central Italy knocked down whole blocks of buildings early Monday as residents slept, killing more than 100 people in the country's deadliest quake in nearly three decades, officials said. Tens of thousands were homeless and 1,500 were injured.

AP / Pier Paolo Cito A child is comforted by a red cross rescuer in a refugee camp setup just outside the Abruzzo capital L'aquila, epicentre of an earthquake earlier in the day on April 6, 2009. A violent earthquake jolted central Italy killing at least 100 people and injuring 1,500 as buildings and homes in the walled medieval town of L'Aquila were reduced to rubble. AFP / Getty Images / Filippo Monteforte The L'Aquila earthquake - Photos - The Big Picture - Boston.com The L'Aquila earthquake Early Monday morning, central Italy was struck by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. The 2009 L'Aquila earthquake caused serious damage to several medieval hill towns in the region, killing over 260 residents, injuring over 1,000 and leaving 28,000 homeless. Despite the dangers from aftershocks, the search for survivors continues, and will be maintained until Sunday, after which the daunting tasks of cleanup and reconstruction willl begin.

( 32 photos total ) Shattered roofs of collapsed houses are seen against the backdrop of snow-covered mountains after an earthquake in the Italian village of Onna April 6, 2009. (REUTERS/Chris Helgren) ITALY EARTHQUAKE - 6.3 - 2009 ITALY EARTHQUAKE Death toll has risen to 202 Pope Benedict hold funeral mass for the earthquake victims on Good Friday.

EARTHQUAKE on 06/04/2009 at 01:32 (UTC) CENTRAL ITALY 7 km NW L'aquila MAGNITUDE: Mw 6.2 Data provided by: BEO BUC GFU GFZ IMP INGV KAN LDG LED LJU LVV MAD MCSM MSO NEIC NEWS ODC OGS PDA RNS SOF WAR ZAMG 95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 2.1 Km - Semi minor = 1.5 Km - Azimuth of major axis = 25 degrees Number of data used = 744 Preliminary location computed on Mon Apr 6 02:28:12 2009 (UTC) Done by Gilles Mazet-Roux ML6.5 (BEO) ML6.2 (BUC) ML5.3 (GFU) M 5.6 (GFZ) M 6.2 (GFZ) ML5.7 (INGV) ML5.9 (INGV) ML5.8 (INGV) mb6.6 (LDG) ML5.5 (LDG) ML5

.6 (LED) ML6.4 (LJU) mb6.2 (MAD) M 6.3 (NEIC) ML6.1 (ODC) ML5.5 (RNS) ML5.6 (SOF) mb4.3 (ZAMG) P.S.: For additional information, please contact EMSC at: - Email: mazet@emsc-csem.org - Web : (maps available) - Fax : 33 1 69 26 70 00 There have been 4 more quakes in the range of 4.5 to 5.7 so far as well.

Another quake - 5.7 occurred today - 4-7-09. followed by a 5.5 quake on 4-7-09 Another 5.2 quake occurred on 4-8-09 Another 4-9 quake on 4-8-09 4-13-09 - quake of 4.2 Medieval city, founded in the 13th Century Capital of the mountainous Abruzzo region Population 70,000, with many thousands more tourists and foreign students Walled city with narrow streets, lined by Baroque and Renaissance buildings 4-5-09 RESCUERS HUNT FOR SURVIVORS A desperate search for survivors is on in and around the Italian city of L'Aquila after a quake killed, Italian media say, at least 150 people. Some 5,000 rescuers are picking through rubble in the walled medieval city and nearby towns and villages, some of them said to have been virtually destroyed. Tents are being put up in tennis courts and on football pitches to house some of the 30,000-40,000 homeless.

The number of people injured has been put at 1,500. Italy's PM Silvio Berlusconi declared a state of emergency in the region. Gianfranco Fini, speaker of the lower house of parliament, told MPs: "Some towns in the area have been virtually destroyed in their entirety." Such is the damage in L'Aquila, where between 3,000 and 10,000 buildings were reportedly affected, that the city will be uninhabitable for some time, the BBC's David Willey reports. Surrounding villages were also hit hard: In the village of Onna, 24 people were killed, according to the Italian news agency Ansa; the village of 250 was virtually deserted as survivors sought shelter In Castelnuovo, a village of about 300 people, five deaths were confirmed It has been reported that a major earthquake in the L'Aquila area was predicted by an Italian scientist several weeks ago. But a spokesman for the Italian Civil Protection Agency, Dr Agostino Miozzo, was adamant that this was not possible. "We can only say that an area is prone to earthquakes," he told the BBC.

"From here down to Sicily is historically an area interspersed by earthquakes, but even that we cannot predict." Bare hands Fire-fighters aided by dogs worked feverishly to reach people trapped in fallen buildings in L'Aquila, including a student dormitory where several students were believed to be still inside. Residents and rescuers used their bare hands to clear the debris from collapsed buildings. "We are not using machines for this because experience has shown us that it is important to dig by hand [to avoid further casualties]," said Mr Berlusconi after arriving in L'Aquila. He said a field hospital, 2,000 tents and 4,000 hotel rooms were being made available. "I can assure you that there is no building that has fallen down without rescuers, without fire brigade being there," he told reporters. Italy, he said, had the resources it needed to deal with the disaster: "Financially, there are no problems. The government has all the necessary funds at its disposal. We also have the EU catastrophe fund." Officials say 26 cities and towns have been damaged in the region, not including villages and hamlets.

There have been stories of rescues all day, the BBC's Duncan Kennedy reports from L'Aquila. Men, women and children have been brought out of the rubble, some carried on ladders used as makeshift stretchers, some screaming with delight at having survived. 'Struck the heart' The 6.3-magnitude quake struck at 0330 (0130 GMT) close to L'Aquila, 95km (60 miles) north-east of Rome. It lasted about 30 seconds, bringing down many Renaissance-era and Baroque buildings, including the dome on one of L'Aquila's churches. Boulders fell off mountain slopes, blocking roads. Houses were reduced to piles of rubble and cars crushed by raining debris. One resident, Antonio di Marco, recounted his experience for the BBC: "We escaped outside like madmen, we didn't understand what was happening, the whole building was moving under our feet, it is something that's impossible to describeï¿½" "It's a catastrophe and an immense shock," resident Renato Di Stefano told the Associated Press as he and his family headed for shelter in a tent camp outside L'Aquila.

"It's struck in the heart of the city, we will never forget the pain." 'State of shock' Dr Miozzo said many survivors faced a rough night ahead. "Tonight we'll have a great number of people that will sleep in their car, people that will go to their relatives in the neighbouring area, in the neighbouring towns that are in safe conditions," he told the BBC. "But they are very shocked, you see, especially the aged people and obviously children." Phone and power lines have been down and some bridges and roads have been closed as a precaution against aftershocks. Italy lies on two fault lines and has been hit by powerful earthquakes in the past, mainly in the south of the country. World leaders have sent messages of condolence and Pope Benedict XVI offered prayers for the "victims, especially the children". The EU, Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Israel and Russia immediately stepped forward with offers of aid, if required. Latest from Duncan Kennedy, L'Aquila Here in the centre of the city, building after building has been left destroyed or half standing with cracks and holes. We watched as rescue workers struggled to pull out survivors, crawling on their stomachs to try to reach those trapped inside.

There is a stream of almost ghostly figures, local people caught up in the early hours this morning in this earthquake, who are pouring past us wearing blankets. They are pulling suitcases and luggage past this collapsed building trying to get to safety. People are wandering around in a dazed state. Eyewitness: 'Everything falling' In pictures: L'Aquila in shock MAJOR ITALIAN QUAKES 2002 - 30 die, including 27 pupils and their teacher, in the southern town of San Giuliano di Puglia 1997 - 13 die and priceless cultural heritage lost in the central Umbria region 1980 - Nearly 3,000 people die, some 9,000 injured and 30,000 displaced near Naples Italy muzzled scientist who foresaw quake 06 Apr 2009 11:22:00 GMT Source: Reuters By Gavin Jones ROME, April 6 (Reuters) - An Italian scientist predicted a major earthquake around L'Aquila weeks before disaster struck the city on Monday, killing dozens of people, but was reported to authorities for spreading panic among the population.

The first tremors in the region were felt in mid-January and continued at regular intervals, creating mounting alarm in the medieval city, about 100 km (60 miles) east of Rome. Vans with loudspeakers had driven around the town a month ago telling locals to evacuate their houses after seismologist Gioacchino Giuliani predicted a large quake was on the way, prompting the mayor's anger. Giuliani, who based his forecast on concentrations of radon gas around seismically active areas, was reported to police for "spreading alarm" and was forced to remove his findings from the Internet. Italy's Civil Protection agency held a meeting of the Major Risks Committee, grouping scientists charged with assessing such risks, in L'Aquila on March 31 to reassure the townspeople. "The tremors being felt by the population are part of a typical sequence ... (which is) absolutely normal in a seismic area like the one around L'Aquila," the civil protection agency said in a statement on the eve of that meeting. "It is useful to underline that it is not in any way possible to predict an earthquake," it said, adding that the agency saw no reason for alarm but was nonetheless effecting "continuous monitoring and attention".

As the media asked questions about the authorities' alleged failure to safeguard the population ahead of the quake, the head of the National Geophysics Institute dismissed Giuliani's predictions. "Every time there is an earthquake there are people who claim to have predicted it," he said. "As far as I know nobody predicted this earthquake with precision. It is not possible to predict earthquakes." Enzo Boschi said the real problem for Italy was a long-standing failure to take proper precautions despite a history of tragic quakes. "We have earthquakes but then we forget and do nothing. It's not in our culture to take precautions or build in an appropriate way in areas where there could be strong earthquakes," he said. AlertNet news is provided by More than 130 die in central Italian earthquake Mon Apr 6, 2009 5:57pm EDT By Deepa Babington L'AQUILA, Italy (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake struck central Italy early on Monday, killing more than 130 people, making up to 50,000 homeless and flattening entire medieval towns while residents slept.

As rescue workers combed through the rubble for survivors and rushed to set up tents for the homeless, officials warned the death toll could rise further and declined to estimate the number of missing. Most of the dead were in L'Aquila, a 13th-century mountain city about 100 km (60 miles) east of Rome, and villages and towns in the Abruzzo region. The quake struck around 3.30 a.m. (9: 30 p.m. EDT) and aftershocks rattled the area through the day. "Please help us, we've lost everything, we are desperate," said a sobbing man whose mother and 21-year old son were killed. "I called them, I called them until I had no voice left. I was digging in the rubble with my own bare hands. They found them this afternoon, buried in debris, hugging each other," he told state television.

Lower house speaker Gianfranco Fini said some towns in the area had been "virtually destroyed in their entirety." Abruzzo's regional government said more than 130 people were confirmed dead, some 20 hours after the quake struck with a magnitude of between 5.8 and 6.3. ANSA news agency quoted hospital sources as saying more than 150 people had died. Emergency services said 60 people had been plucked alive form the wreckage, including six students trapped inside a collapsed dormitory, but the website of Corriere della Sera said 250 people were still missing. "I woke up hearing what sounded like a bomb," said L'Aquila resident Angela Palumbo, 87. "We managed to escape with things falling all around us. Everything was shaking, furniture falling. I don't remember ever seeing anything like this in my life." Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi canceled a trip to Moscow and declared a national emergency, freeing up funds for aid and rebuilding. But he also appeared on the defensive about reports that officials shrugged off a warning about the quake weeks ago.

Flying in to the disaster zone, Berlusconi told reporters that now was the time to concentrate on relief efforts and "we can discuss afterwards about the predictability of earthquakes." The Civil Protection department said up to 50,000 people may have been made homeless in some 26 cities and towns. More than 1,500 people were injured and thousands of houses, ancient churches and buildings collapsed or were damaged. Rubble was strewn throughout L'Aquila, a city of 68,000, and nearby towns, blocking roads and hampering rescue teams. Old women wailed and residents armed with only their bare hands helped firefighters and rescue workers in the rubble. In the small town of Onna, which was almost entirely razed to the ground, 24 people were killed. A Reuters witness saw a mother and her infant daughter carried away in the same coffin. Berlusconi told reporters in L'Aquila that tent cities and field hospitals would be set up there and hotels on the Adriatic coast would be requisitioned to shelter thousands of homeless.

"We're hoping they give us a tent or something to sleep under tonight," said 70-year-old Isenia Santilli, taking shelter at a sports field outside L'Aquila's city center where the Red Cross was feeding quake victims. Residents of Rome, which is rarely hit by seismic activity, were woken by the quake, which rattled furniture and swayed lights in most of central Italy. Pope Benedict said he was saying a special prayer for the victims. "When the quake hit, I rushed out to my father's house and opened the main door and everything had collapsed. My father is surely dead. I called for help but no one was around," said Camillo Berardi in L'Aquila. A resident standing by an apartment block that was reduced to the height of an adult said: "This building was four storeys high." In another part of the city, residents tried to hush the wailing of grief to try to pinpoint the screams of a survivor. Part of a university residence and a hotel collapsed in L'Aquila and at least one person was still trapped. At least four Romanesque and Renaissance churches and a 16th century castle were damaged.

Part of the nave of the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, one of the area's best-known churches, collapsed. To the north, the belltower of the lavish Renaissance Basilica of San Bernardino also crumbled. Bridges and highways in the mountainous area were closed as a precaution. Weeks before the disaster, an Italian scientist had predicted a major quake around L'Aquila, based on concentrations of radon gas found around seismically active areas. Seismologist Gioacchino Giuliani, who lives in L'Aquila, was reported to police for "spreading alarm" and was forced to remove his findings from the Internet. Civil Protection assured locals at the end of March that tremors being felt were "absolutely normal" for a seismic area. Earthquakes can be particularly dangerous in parts of Italy because so many buildings are centuries old. About 2,700 people died in an earthquake in the south in 1980.

(Writing by Philip Pullella and Phil Stewart; additional reporting by Reuters Rome bureau; editing by Tim Pearce) Italy earthquake has caused 'incalculable' damage to cultural heritage | World news | The Guardian Italy earthquake has caused 'incalculable' damage to cultural heritage Experts tell of serious damage to Italy's cultural heritage as scale of L'Aquila earthquake becomes apparent 'Devastated' ... The basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L'Aquila, Italy, before its transept collapsed in the earthquake. Photograph: Sandro Vannini/Corbis Tuesday 7 April 2009 16.52 EDT First published on Tuesday 7 April 2009 16.52 EDT Close This article is 7 years old Experts today spoke of "incalculable" damage to Italy's cultural heritage as the scale of the impact of the L'Aquila earthquake on the area's historic buildings became apparent. Many Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance buildings in the 13th-century city were badly damaged in Monday's tremor. "The damage is more serious than we can imagine," said Giuseppe Proietti, a culture ministry official.

"The historic center of L'Aquila has been devastated." The transept of the early medieval basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, scene of the coronation of Pope Celestine in 1294 and renowned for its intricate pink and white stone facade, collapsed. The cupola of another church, the Santa Maria del Suffragio, cracked open, revealing the stucco patterns inside its dome. Stones also fell from the city's cathedral, which was rebuilt in 1703 after an earthquake. Proietti said the city's own cultural offices, housed in a 16th century Spanish castle, had had to close because of the damage, while Stefania Pezzopane, president of the Abruzzo province, described the damage as incalculable. "Entire buildings have collapsed, innumerable homes destroyed or rendered unsafe." Churches and historic buildings in surrounding villages also suffered significant damage. The 14th-century Tower of Medici, in the fortified village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio, collapsed, as did the main altar of the baroque church of Sant'Angelo in the town of Celano, seat of the lords who ruled the area in the Middle Ages.

The quake badly damaged the facade of the church of Sant'Agostino in Teramo, shifted a bell tower at the convent of San Domenico and brought down the ceiling of the church of Poggio Cono. Damage was reported as far away as Rome, with minor cracks at the thermal baths built in the 3rd century by Emperor Caracalla, Prioietti said. Culture officials have requested €30m (£27m) for emergency works to shore up the most important architectural treasures. Giorgio Croci, a Rome-based engineer and expert on ancient monuments, said the methods employed by medieval architects were a key factor in the region's damage. While ancient Roman and Renaissance builders used high-quality stone, in the medieval era builders often skimped on the quality of their materials, he said, meaning monuments from that period were less likely to stand in the event of a quake. "If you live in an ancient building, you have to employ a policy of prevention," Croci said.

Deadly Earthquake Hits Central Italy - The New York Times The New York Times Europe |Italians Comb Through Rubble After Quake Search Continue reading the main story Photo A man inspected the rubble of his destroyed house in Onna, near LAquila. The quake left thousands homeless in the mountainous Abruzzo region east of Rome. Credit Chris Helgren/Reuters L’AQUILA, Italy — At twilight on Monday, seven wooden coffins lay on the ground under a gnarled tree in Onna, a tiny village eight miles from here. A woman was slumped in grief over one, while people comforted her. After a few moments, five men strained to lift four coffins into a funeral van. “They belonged to an entire family: a husband, wife and their two children,” said one of the men, Piero Taffo, who runs a funeral home in L’Aquila. As the death toll continued to rise late Monday from a powerful earthquake that shook central Italy early in the day, officials said that as many as 150 people had been killed, at least 1,500 injured and tens of thousands left homeless.

The 6.3-magnitude quake seriously damaged historic buildings in the medieval hill towns of the mountainous Abruzzo region east of Rome. The deaths and damage was centered in L’Aquila, a picturesque fortress town at the epicenter, but more than 26 nearby villages were also affected, some seriously. Historic buildings in the surrounding region in the Apennine mountains were also damaged. “Some towns in the area have been virtually destroyed in their entirety,” Gianfranco Fini , the speaker of the lower house of Parliament, said in Rome before the chamber observed a moment of silence. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who canceled a trip to Moscow to survey the region by helicopter, declared a state of emergency. Photo LAquila and more than 26 nearby villages were affected. Credit The New York Times “It’s a disaster never before seen,” said Franco Totani, a lawyer who said he was leaving L’Aquila to stay with an uncle in Rome. “I’ve seen earthquakes before, but this is a catastrophe.” The narrow streets of L’Aquila’s historic center were filled with rubble, and parked cars were crushed under large blocks of debris.

About 80,000 people live in L’Aquila and the surrounding area. The cupola of the 18th-century Santa Maria del Suffragio church cracked open like an eggshell, exposing the stucco patterns inside the dome. Part of the transept of the 13th-century Santa Maria di Collemaggio basilica collapsed, as did a small cupola in the 18th-century church of Sant’Agostino. Gianfranco Cioni, an architect in L’Aquila, said the authorities should have warned residents of the threat of an earthquake. “We had three months of tremors, each one stronger than the next,” Mr. Cioni said. The earthquake struck around 3:30 a.m. Monday and could be felt as far away as Rome, 60 miles to the west, where it rattled furniture and set off car alarms. The United States Geological Survey said it was one of several quakes to hit the region overnight. Among the hardest hit places was Onna, a rural village of less than 400 people. At least 37 residents of the village died, the ANSA news agency reported.

Onna’s older two- and three-story stone houses had nearly all been reduced to rubble. Aftershocks shuddered through the area all day and into the evening, when a driving rain picked up, hampering rescue efforts. People clawed through the debris by hand, frantically seeking survivors. Mr. Berlusconi said Monday night on national television that 150 people had been killed. But the ANSA news agency reported that officials said that 98 of the dead had been identified, and that another 20 bodies were still unidentified. Photo The body of a victim lying on the street. Credit Vincenzo Pinto/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Mr. Berlusconi said the government was doing everything “humanly possible” to help those left homeless and would work to rebuild L’Aquila quickly. He said he would be in L’Aquila on Tuesday to assess the situation. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said rescue workers would work around the clock until all survivors had been found. A spokesman for Italy’s Civil Protection Agency said on national television that an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people had been left homeless.

Electricity, telephone and gas lines were damaged. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy In L’Aquila, parts of the main hospital were evacuated because they were at risk of collapsing, The Associated Press reported, and only two operating rooms were in use; bloodied victims waited in hospital hallways or in the courtyard, and many people were being treated in the open. Four children died in the hospital after their house had collapsed, ANSA reported. Part of a building that housed university students in L’Aquila collapsed, and initial reports said one person had died and seven people were missing. At midday, shaken students and family members sat outside the rubble of the four-story building. “We’re waiting for my son,” said a woman who declined to give her name. She stood among a knot of anxious onlookers and hid her eyes behind large sunglasses. Newer buildings in the outer part of the city were also affected. Residents, many still in their pajamas, wheeled dusty suitcases through the streets, on their way out of town. Photo Several buildings in LAquila were reduced to rubble.

Credit Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters Outside a damaged convent, a dozen nuns, still dressed in bright orange and blue bathrobes, climbed into a van at midday to go to an assistance center. Sister Lidia, the mother superior, said an 82-year-old nun had died of shock. “The quake, it was very strong,” she said. By evening, local residents had begun gathering at two stadiums in the town, where rescue workers were setting up 2,000 tents for the homeless. Outside one stadium, a grief-stricken man could be heard talking on his cellphone. “Alessandro is still under the rubble,” he said. Gaetana Leone said she had been evacuated from the historic center of the city. “It’s terrible,” she said. “I can’t go back home.” But Ms. Leone tried to put on a brave face. “We’re the miraculous ones,” she said.

“Even if we’ve lost our houses, we’re still alive.” Speaking on Rainews 24 , a new channel on state television, Guido Bertolaso, Italy’s senior civil protection official, said that the earthquake was “comparable if not superior to the one which struck Umbria in 1997.” That quake killed 10 people and damaged medieval buildings across the region, including Assisi’s famed basilica with its Giotto frescoes. Seismic activity is relatively common in Italy, but the intensity of the earthquake on Monday was rare. It was the worst in Italy since a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Eboli, south of Naples, in 1980, killing more than 2,700 people. The last major quake to hit central Italy struck the Molise region in 2002, killing 28 people, including 27 children who died when their school collapsed. Rachel Donadio reported from L’Aquila, Italy, and Elisabetta Povoledo from Rome. A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A5 of the New York edition with the headline: Italians Comb Through Rubble After Quake; Thousands Are Homeless.

Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe BBC NEWS | Europe | Historic L'Aquila reels from quake Historic L'Aquila reels from quake Churches in L'Aquila were damaged Enlarge Image The city of L'Aquila - 'Eagle' in Italian - nestles in the mountainous Abruzzo region, overlooked by the highest mountain on the Italian peninsula. Lying in a valley surrounded by the Apennine mountains, the medieval walled city looks up at Corno Grande's peak. L'Aquila, 95km north-east of Rome, is the main historical and artistic centre of Abruzzo, with a university and the National Museum of the Abruzzi. It is also home to about 70,000 citizens who live among its winding narrow streets and more modern apartments on the outskirts of the administrative capital. The original L'Aquila walled town was originally built in the 13th Century. But much of it, including San Massimo cathedral, was destroyed in an earthquake in 1703. The unpredictable earthquake-prone landscape caused destruction again with another deadly earthquake on 6 April 2009.

Dozens of residents in L'Aquila died, as did people in surrounding towns where ancient and modern buildings cracked and crumbled. Quake's toll L'Aquila was built as a mountain stronghold during the Middle Ages and has many prized Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance buildings. L'AQUILA Medieval city, founded in the 13th Century Capital of the mountainous Abruzzo region Population 70,000, with many thousands more tourists and foreign students Walled city with narrow streets, lined by Baroque and Renaissance buildings Alongside the human cost, the quake has taken severe toll on this architectural heritage. Parts of many of the ancient churches and castles in and around the city have collapsed while in outlying, isolated villages there has been damage to centuries-old buildings and monuments. L'Aquila's San Massimo cathedral, rebuilt after the 1703 earthquake and whose present facade dates from 1851, has been damaged. At least four Romanesque and Renaissance churches and a 16th Century castle were also part-destroyed, the Culture Ministry said. Part of the nave of the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, one of the area's most famous churches, collapsed.

And the belltower of the Renaissance Basilica of San Bernardino also crumbled. Meanwhile a dormitory in the city's university was also damaged. With thousands left homeless by the quake, a variety of modern buildings left standing - including barracks, stadiums and gyms - have now become makeshift mess halls and dormitories. Bookmark with: Earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy | World news | The Guardian Earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy 6 April 2009: Scores of people have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck central Italy Monday 6 April 2009 03.20 EDT First published on Monday 6 April 2009 03.20 EDT Rescue workers look for earthquake survivors under a collapsed house in L'Aquila, Italy Photograph: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters People flee their homes after the quake, measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, struck the medieval city Photograph: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters Rescue workers carry an injured woman from her house Photograph: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters Firefighters carry a survivor out of a crumbled home Photograph: Pier Paolo Cito/AP Rescue teams retrieve a person from a building.

Residents have been warned to prepare for aftershocks Photograph: Peri - Percossi/EPA People keep warm on the street. Italian media estimate that thousands of people may have been made homeless by the quake Photograph: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters A man looks for his relatives among debris.

The quake was the latest and strongest in a series to hit the L'Aquila area over the past two days Photograph: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters An Italian military carabinieri walks past destroyed buildings Photograph: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters The body of a victim lies on the street Photograph: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images Rescuers search for trapped people under the ruins of a collapsed house Photograph: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images A chasm gapes where the street once was Photograph: Peri - Percossi/EPA Elderly women in the rubble-strewn street Photograph: Grillo/EPA Shocked locals take stock amid the debris Photograph: Pier Paolo Cito/AP Residents sit on the pavement in the town centre Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images Doctors and rescue workers rush by a collapsed building in the centre of the city Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images Fire crew work on a collapsed building Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images Luigi d'Andrea collects belongings from the debris of his apartment Photograph: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images Rescuers sift through the wreckage of a house Photograph: Chris Helgren/Reuters Rescuers with an injured man who was recovered from a collapsed

 building Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images Rescue workers in central Italy try to free hundreds of people feared trapped under rubble Published: 7 Apr 2009 Witnesses to the powerful earthquake in central Italy, which killed dozens of people, describe what they saw Published: 6 Apr 2009 Researcher urged locals to evacuate their homes Published: 6 Apr 2009 Medieval church and 16th-century fortress among heritage sites damaged Published: 6 Apr 2009

Question: Which medieval city was the centre of the Italian earthquake of April 2009?
Answer: L'Aquila