LARRY'S CORNER- Hamilton's Former Mayor Speaks

Devastating Earthquake in Central Italy

By Larry Di Ianni
(posted April 13, 2009)

On April 6, which happened to be my birthday, very early in the morning , I received a phone call from Bob Bratina asking if I had heard about the earthquake in Italy’s Abruzzo region. I hadn’t. Did I know the city of L’Aquila I was asked? In my morning fog I didn’t quite hear the name properly and said I hadn’t heard of it but thought it might be in northern Italy. When I realized which city it was, I also came to understand that the earthquake occurred in my very own ancestral region. And it happened in a city I have visited often and came to love for its charm, culture, pristine environment and antiquity. I was shell-shocked. The reality of the damage numbed me even more.

I was born in the Italian province of Abruzzo in central Italy; and as is known, came to Hamilton as a very small boy. The province of Abruzzo is home to many Hamiltonians who came to this area in post-war Italy searching for a better life away from a war-torn economy and unstable governments. Although, this part of Italy isn’t among the poorer southern areas, it has had its economic challenges. It is situated along the Appenine Mountain range, but straddles the Adriatic coast on its eastern flank. The province has four regional capitals: Teramo, along the Adriatic, Pescara, not too far from Teramo, Chieti, near Pescara and L’Aquila in the mountains. My home town is part of the L’Aquila regional area.

The earthquake which happened early in the morning as people slept, measured 6.3 on the Richter scale. By any standards this was a major shock. But because the epicentre was in the city of L’Aquila itself, a very densely populated community of about 70,000 people, the results were tragic and deadly. It should be noted; however, that about 26 smaller towns in the area were affected by the quake, some towns such as Onna just a few kilometres from L’Aquila was levelled almost entirely. But L’Aquila is an ancient city whose older buildings are stacked one on the other lining small streets built in the pre-car area. All construction is stone and cement. The configuration, density and severity caused the many deaths reported. One might also say that luckily, if one can use such a term to describe the disaster, the deaths weren’t higher than those that occurred. Be that as it may, the over 200 deaths and the close to 40,000 homeless people living in tents or temporarily housed in hotels bring home the severity of the devastation. No one who witnessed the line up of coffins at the mass funerals, some with little children’s white caskets on them, could help but be moved to tears at the unfolding drama. These scenes and my own history with the area brought memories flooding back to me.

When I was an educator and Principal of a Secondary School, we sent students to study and travel in Italy. A few teachers accompanied the students and taught them courses in History, Art and Western Civilization. The backdrop for these studies was the city of L’Aquila. I chose this city specifically because of its beauty and historical richness, but also because it was big enough to be interesting to young adults, and not so big to be dangerous for them. The students absolutely loved the city and whenever they toured, they always were anxious to go back ‘home’ which for them was L’Aquila. I almost always joined the group towards the end of their studies to see first hand how they enjoyed the experiences. They always did and a number of them have called to commiserate as the result of this tragedy to ‘their’ town.

It is said that in the midst of tragedy, people’s characters are revealed. As I watch the heroic efforts by the first responders in Abruzzo, I see much bravery as they pull survivors from the rubble. As I watch a whole country and the European continent mourn the tragedy, I realize that truly we are all in it together. The response has been just as promising here on this side of the Atlantic. In communities across this country, Italian-Canadians are mobilizing to assist. Hamilton is no exception. Several organizational meetings have been held and details will be released this week on the fundraising efforts. Local politicians such as Mayor Fred, Sophia Aggelonitis and Paul Miller have pledged their support and have attended meetings in person to affirm their interest. Sophia has called repeatedly to be kept up-to-date on our proceedings. And Fred has assigned his Executive Assistant to be on the committee.

My brother Angelo is chairing the efforts and Joe Mancinelli, whose family also comes from the area, is co-Chair. But the committee is broad and deep. Italian-Canadians from all over Italy are present; and Hamiltonians who are of other ethnic backgrounds are on the committee as well. The Rotarians have pledged support and the Arts community, represented by Gary Santucci has also been there. Many local entertainers have offered their assistance. And local entrepreneurs like Chris Ecklund have already started to help.

I am convinced that just as Hamiltonians were very generous when the terrible and much more devastating Tsunami hit, and the earthquake in China devastated that country last year, we will also show our support, generosity and solidarity for the region of L’Aquila. Ironically, the word L’Aquila means “The Eagle” in Italian. And this beautiful eagle deserves to soar once again. With everyone’s help, it will!

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