Lavori in Corso

Guided walk around work in progress, 11th October

Described as 'urban trekking', the guided walk led approximately 100 people around building works in progress in L'Aquila historic centre, mainly situated on or near Il Corso (the main road). This was focused around reconstruction work post-earthquake. Led by the Archeoclub d'Italia, it is the third year this walk has been held in L'Aquila to allow the public to learn more about the reconstruction work and have the opportunity to enter private structures which are still being restored. The Facebook group for this event describes it as an initiative which 'is an invitation to rediscover restored monuments in L'Aquila after the earthquake of 2009, and to get closer to historic sites of the city. The aim is also to assess the progress in the reconstruction of the city centre.'

I spoke to a number of people who were attending the event, and they were all local Aquilani. When we visited the last building - a beautifully restored ancient Palazzo which is well known in L'Aquila for its frescoes - one man told me he was very excited to visit this place because even though he had lived in L'Aquila for 30 years, he had never had the chance to see it from the inside. The walk therefore seemed an opportunity for local people to engage with their city in a way that perhaps they were not able to before the earthquake. We entered three Palazzi, all restored: the first dates from the 13th century, and is still unoccupied because the services are not yet fitted; the second is partially occupied, mainly by shops at ground level; the third - Palazzo Antinori - is fully occupied, and here we entered an apartment to see the frescoes.

Another man described the aftermath of the earthquake to me, as we waited for our group to enter the first Palazzo. He told me how scary it was, in particular not knowing what was going on, where the damage had been most significant and the extent of it (he lives in a village outside the historic centre, which fortunately suffered minor damage). Information reached them sporadically as communication was very poor, so it was difficult to know if his family and friends were safe. Before the earthquake, he visited the centre every day, and called the centre 'smart' because it was small but you could do everything there, and didn't need to arrange to see friends because you always just saw them around. I think he was particularly emotional as he talked in that place - the Piazza Nove Martiri Aquilani - because, as he told me, it held particular significance for him: 'this is the place where I first kissed my wife. But shh - it's a secret!'