A TALE OF TWO HEROES

On the eve of the first anniversary of the horrific 24th August earthquake in Central Italy, it is sad indeed to be writing about another quake, this time on the Neapolitan island of Ischia. The quake, which struck on Monday, killed two women and 39 people have been injured, some seriously.

As always, when there is such a tragedy, there is also heroism and courage and the video of firemen rescuing a seven-month-old baby who had been trapped for seven hours went around the world. Who could watch it and not cry? Later the baby's brother, eight-year-old Mattias, was rescued and finally, after 16 hours, the third brother, 11-year-old Ciro, who had saved his siblings by pushing them under a bed. Firemen kept talking to Ciro throughout the rescue operation and at one point he asked a fireman, "Do you love me?" "Yes, I love you", came the reply. "Then come", said Ciro and come they did. Interviewed in hospital today, Ciro said he had thought he would die but that when he was pulled out and saw the light, knew that God exists. All three boys are said to be in a good condition and, though Ciro has a fractured foot, he hopes to be playing football again soon. His pregnant mother, who was in another room when the quake struck, is also well and his father is with them.

Meanwhile, today in Amatrice, the town which was literally half wiped out by last year's quake, a statue honouring a very special dog is being inaugurated. Camilla, a border collie working with the Ligurian Fire Brigade, died in the line of duty in June. In the days following the quake, she helped save dozens of people trapped in the rubble and Amatrice will never forget her. Her statue is also dedicated to all the search and rescue dogs who were deployed during that distressing time.

Let us think of all who have been affected by earthquakes and all - human or canine - who work to help them, wherever they are in the world, over the next few days.

SIGNING FOR AMATRICE

Last night on this blog I expressed the hope that something good would come out of last week's G7 summit in Taormina and here's a positive development from a project that even its creators didn't really expect to take off:

The enterprising owners of the clothing store La Pagoda in Taormina's Corso Umberto decided to display a canvas with portraits of the G7 leaders on it in the hope that some of them would sign it. They were quite surprised when President Macron, the First Ladies of Italy and Japan and Justin Trudeau stopped by to do so. You can see a video of President Macron signing the canvas and having a chat here.

The canvas will now be auctioned and the funds raised will go to Amatrice, the town devastated by the earthquake of 24.8.16 and which was struck again on 26.10.16. President Trudeau found time to visit Amatrice on Sunday in a gesture of solidarity.

DOMENICA MUSICALE - SANREMO 2017

Throughout this post, I shall be posting links rather than videos as there are no official clips, as yet, on youtube, presumably for copyright reasons.

Another Sanremo Festival has come and gone and I've already mentioned one of my favourite moments. Undoubtedly the most touching was the appearance, on the first evening, of representatives of Italy's emergency services and volunteers - including a wonderful labrador -  who had helped in recent disasters such as the 24th August earthquake and the Rigopiano avalanche. The rescuers deservedly got a standing ovation. 

I also enjoyed the appearance of a favourite man of mine, chef and MasterChef Italia judge Carlo Cracco last night. Goodness, Carlo scrubs up well! He had time to tell us that the dish he would choose for presenter Carlo Conti is a Tuscan ribollita and for co-presenter Maria De Filippi spaghetti with tomato sauce, "because it's every Italian's favorite dish." She, lucky girl, got a kiss from chef Carlo, before the other Carlo sent him back to the kitchen.

There couldn't have been a dry eye in the house last night when Zucchero sang a duet with a virtual Luciano Pavarotti and the press dubbed this performance "the real winner."  You can see this here from 01.38.00 mins.

I thought the best song in the whole competition was this one, which was knocked out on the fourth evening and I also liked this and this, both of which made it to the final evening. The winning song was this, ably performed by Francesco Gabbani and a monkey and I can say for it that it certainly cheered everybody up!

A WELL-DESERVED AWARD

It is always good when hard work is rewarded and no oganisation deserves recognition more, in my opinion, than the Italian firefighters, who, on 27th January in Ulm, were awarded the Conrad Dietrich Magirus Award 2016 as the best firefighters in the world. They were chosen from a shortlist of firefighters from nine countries by a specialist international jury.

Receiving the prize on behalf of firefighters throughout Italy were four representatives, including two from Agrigento. The prize was awarded to the Italian corps for their incredible work following the earthquake of 24th August 2016 in Central Italy, when they tirelessly pulled humans and animals from the wreckage, made people safe and comforted them. The important work of their colleagues from Genova and Imperia, who took photographs documenting the events of that terrible day and its aftermath, was also recognised, as were the organisational skills of national coordinators, who sent firefighters and equipment to the scene from all over the country within hours.

As well as winning the Conrad Dietrich Magirus statuette, a team of Italian firefighters will visit the world-famous New York Fire Department but I am sure that they would say that their reward is in the number of lives saved.

Congratulations to these wonderful men and women.

A TRAGIC WEEK

Both Britain and the US have had a good, or a bad, week, depending on your point of view but there is no doubt that Italy had a tragic one:

As further eathquake tremors again brought fear to Central Italy, on Wednesday an avalanche weighing 120,000 metric tonnes and travelling at 100 km per hour struck the Rigopiano Hotel in Abruzzo. So far six people have been declared dead, 23 are missing and 11 have been pulled out alive.  Among the missing is a young Senegalese, Faye Dame, who had refugee status in Italy and was proud to be the factotem of the hotel. I keep thinking of this young man who had, like so many others, come to Europe in search of a better life. He must have been so happy to have been granted permission to stay and to work and to be able to live in a little apartment near the hotel.

Geologists say the tragedy was caused primarily by three strong earthquake tremors combined with heavy winds blowing in from Siberia, much heavier snow than usual and ground that was already wet.

We were all cheered when the Rigopiano's's Abruzzese shepherd dogs, Lupo and Nuvola, were found alive and well in a village 11 km away, where they are being cared for. Lupo and Nuvola, who are symbols of the hotel, always greeted guests and enjoyed their attention. Fortune was also smiling last week upon this young man, a member of the singing group Il Volo.

On the same day, another earthquake hit Amatrice, the town that suffered so badly in the quake of 24th August. "What, in God's name, have we done to deserve this?" asked the Mayor on Italian radio. The people of Amatrice could certainly have done without Charlie Hebdo's cartoon [not for the first time] but the Mayor's response was, "We will reply to this macabre provocation with life."

Better news from Amatrice was that the first 25 wooden houses have been allocated, by ballot, to some of those made homeless by the 24th August quake.

Tonight my thoughts are with all affected by the avalanche and tremors, all who grieve and all who wait for news of their loved ones. I'm sure that yours are with them too.

Update at 16.34 on 23.1.17:

Lupo and Nuvola's three puppies have been found alive and well in the wreckage of the hotel.

SORROW AND SOLIDARITY

As another night begins, I am sure that many of us are thinking of those affected by the earthquakes in Central Italy yesterday. We can only imagine the fear, following the quake of 24th August and there is devastating damage to buildings in those beautiful little towns.

The first, 5.4 quake struck at 19.10  Italian time on Wednesday and the second, a 5.9 quake, at 21.18. The epicentre of both was Visso [Macerato, Marche] but they were felt in Trentino, Friuli, Veneto, Rome and even Austria. Several buildings in Rome, including the Italian Foreign Office, were evacuated as a precaution and today it was reported that cracks had appeared in some. However, historic buildings such as the Colosseum have been declared undamaged and safe today.  All school buildings in Central Italy are being inspected.

In Amatrice - the town that was virtually wiped out in the 24th August quake - the last building standing in the centre, the four-storey palazzo rosso, succumbed to last night's quake.  

There have been at least 530 aftershocks and at 10.21 today there was a 4.4 quake at Castelsantangelo sul Nera [Macerata, Marche]. At 20.50 there was a 3.1 quake between the same town and Norcia.

Thankfully only four injured have been reported but sadly one elderly person died of a heart attack caused by the quake in Tolentino [Marche]. Reports last night that a child in Camerino [Macerata, Marche] was badly injured appear to have been unfounded. No one is thought to be trapped under the rubble but 2,000 - 3,000 people have been made homeless.

Premier Renzi, who visited the quake zone today, said in Camerino that Italy is stronger than any earthquake and urged Parliament to quickly pass the "earthquake decree" which would enable the necessary funds and resources to be provided more quickly in such cases.

I do hope that it will be some consolation to the people of Amatrice to know that Sicily has not forgotten them:  last Saturday the Rotary Club of Palazzolo Acreide "Valle dell'Anapo" organised an event called "I love Amatrice" to help those affected by the 24th August earthquake. In the town square, chefs gave their services free and cooked pasta all'Amatriciana and a range of pastries, using products donated by sponsors.  Wine was also donated and musicians happily gave their services free. A sum of €2,150 was raised to help the earthquake zones.  

SABATO MUSICALE

Seven years ago, on the occasion of the L'Aquila earthquake, I posted this. It still seems the most appropriate piece of music I could post at the end of this tragic week:

Katherine Jenkins - Dear Lord and Father of Mankind

FOR ITALY, WITH LOVE

At the end of a tragic day for Italy, there is little that I can add to the news updates that you will all be following in your own countries but here are some snippets:

As I write, just before midnight in Italy, the death toll is 159 and 368 people are reported injured. Rescuers are still working, however, so these figures are expected to rise.

Early this evening the Mayor of Amatrice said that he thought 100 people were still missing in the town.  There is said to be nothing left of Amatrice and for me the most poignant image of the day has been of the town's clock tower with rubble all around it and the clock's hands resting at 3.36, the time this morning when the earthquake struck,  [Eerily it was at 3.32 am on 6.4.09 that the L'Aquila earthquake struck.]

A ten-year-old girl was pulled out alive at Pescara del Tronto after 17 hours. Sadly her sister has died.

A 28-year-old Sicilian man from Siracusa Province was pulled out from the rubble of the bakery where he had been working in Amatrice this afternoon.

The youngest victim was an 8-month-old baby.

At least 1,000 people have lost their homes.

Reports of strong aftershocks are coming in frequently.

In Ascoli Piceno 20 asylum seekers have asked if they can go and help the rescue effort in the village of Amandola.  In Gioioso in Reggio Calabria 75 migrants have offered the allowance they receive in Italy to families affected by the quake. I am sure that other migrants and refugees are also offering help.

People around the country have been queuing to donate blood since the first news of the quake broke.

If you are in Italy, you can donate €2 by texting a message of support to the number below or by calling the number from a landline:

You may find other ways in which you can help here.

Food blogger Paolo Campana has come up with the idea of raising funds through Amatrice's famous pasta dish: for every plate of spaghetti all'amatriciana ordered, participating restaurants will donate €2 to the earthquake fund via the Italian Red Cross:

The Italian information hotline number for the earthquake is:

800 840 840

It may seem that there is nothing we can say or do but we can donate funds if we are in a position to do so and blood if we are in Italy. There is also a need for underwear and blankets for the many displaced people and these should be taken to your nearest Protezione Civile branch if you are in Italy. [Please check with them first.]  But most of all, Italy tonight needs our love.

Albinoni [attrib.] / Giazotto - Adagio in sol minore

SEISMS, SONG AND "PSSTS"

I cannot let the Carnevale season pass without posting a photo of yummy chiacchiere biscuits! Chiacchierare is the verb "to gossip" and the biscuits are so named either because their shape resembles that of old women's tongues [say some, unkindly] or, more likely, because of the "psst" sound they make when the pastry is dropped into the hot oil.

Meanwhile the earth of Sicily has been unable to let the season go without - well, shaking us all up a bit. There were two earthquake tremors near here in the early hours of Sunday and a further two on Monday morning [none of which I felt but friends say they did]. However, I certainly did feel a tremor at 16.35 yesterday and this one, originally reported to have been a 4.6 tremor but later reclassified as 4.2, was scary.  The depth of this tremor was reported as 4 km and it was felt in many places in the Province of Ragusa but also in Siracusa and Catania. The epicentre [originally thought to have been in Siracusa] is now said to have been the hamlet of San Giacomo Bellocozzo in Ragusa Province.  No injuries were reported but some plaster has fallen off the Cathedral of San Giorgio in Ragusa Ibla. A further, smaller tremor was reported just after 18.00.

Schools in Modica and Giarratana will be closed tomorrow but there is some confusion as to whether this is because of the tremors. If it is, it seems a sensible precaution to check the buildings but most schools in Modica were going to be closed anyway as part of the Carnevale holiday.

Sicilians have expressed their hurt and frustration at the lack of coverage of the tremors by the main news networks,who preferred to concentrate on the Sanremo Festival which began tonight. This part of Sicily is rooting for Giovanni Caccamo from Modica and Deborah Iurato from Ragusa, who are performing a duet called Via da qui. Their success would certanly cheer us up!

"TO ERR IS HUMAN"

This has been quite a week for surprising court judgements in Italy but in the wake of a 5.0 earthquake which struck the Massiccio del Pollino [Calabria and Basilicata] at 1.05 this morning - there are no fatalities reported as a direct result of the quake* - I'm going to leave aside this afternoon's announcement regarding Mr Berlusconi and talk about Monday's "earthquake trial" verdict. 

News of the six-year prison sentence passed on six scientists and the former deputy director of Italy's Civil Protection organisation, all of whom were members of the country's Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Serious Risks, travelled around the world and met, mostly, with disbelief.  Scientific opinion was divided but the majority of experts concurred that it is impossible to predict earthquakes and Italy found herself once again the object of ridicule. Meanwhile, many Italian parliamentarians condemned the sentence and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini said he trusted that the verdict would be overturned at the first appeal.  Yesterday Italy's Environment Minister said the only precedent for such a judgement was the case of Galileo and today a Cabinet meeting refused to accept the en masse resignations, offered in protest at the verdict, of other members of the Risks Commission. 

There seems to be broad agreement, then, that the scientists, however learned, should not be punished for their failure to predict an unpredictable event - nor will they be, for this was not the charge.  The men were tried, not for failure to predict a major quake but for being too reassuring towards the citizens of  L'Aquila in the six months prior to the terrible earthquake of 6th April 2009.  In the words of the judge, at a meeting one week before the quake, they gave "inaccurate, incomplete and contradictory information on the danger of tremors in the six months prior to 6th April 2009."  It has been implied that, because of the scientists' reassuring statements, some people stayed in their houses and died on the night of the quake, whereas if they had gone out into the street they might have lived.

So are we talking about professional error or poor communication? Very possibly both and surely anyone who has been in any position of responsibility will sympathise with seismologist Enzo Boschi, who, in obvious distress after the judgement, said, "I still don't understand what I've been convicted of."  

Given that errors of judgement do happen at work, are the errors of some professionals more serious than those of others?  I guess most of us would agree that they can be if the professionals in question are teachers on a school trip, doctors or perhaps seismologists.  But all these people are human too and where there are humans there will always be human error.

My opinion? I am not qualified to give one in this sad case so I merely state the facts for your perusal and ask the questions that come to mind.

  *Pollino:  an 84-year-old man is reported to have died of a heart attack, probably caused by fear, in Scalea.  Tonight many people in the area are frightened and are sleeping out in the open.

HOORAY FOR SAN MARINO!

Monte Titano, San Marino
Image:  Wikimedia Commons

This is not a post about Sicily, but the Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, which I have visited only once and loved.

In Italy for Beginners, the humourist George Mikes wrote,

"The Italians cannot - and do not even try to - spoil the fun San Marino has with postage stamps.  A treaty exists between Italy and San Marino, under which Italy makes an annual payment ..... and in return San Marino forgoes her right to print money, grow tobacco, distil alcohol or impose duties of any kind.  She is, however, allowed to print her own stamps..... Magnificent and impressive stamps pour from the printing presses every month or so to the delight and despair of collectors." 

Mikes was writing in 1956 and Italy and, no doubt, San Marino are very different today but the book still contains nuggets of truth that anyone who has had an extended stay in Italy will recognise with a wry smile.  I particularly recommend the last section of Mikes's chapter on San Marino, in which he is mistaken for a spokesperson for the Duke of Gloucester, to you. 

The Sammarinesi continue to produce beautiful stamps and this week they have unveiled a special edition which will be sold in order to raise funds for reconstruction work in the areas affected by the Emilia-Romagna earthquake earlier this year.

Image: via Meteoweb

The slogan for the edition reads, "Hold your hand out to rebirth" and, as you see, the leaf resembles a hand.  It is holding a brick, which symbolises reconstruction.  The release date for the stamp is 30th August but it can be purchased on the internet from 20th August.

Let's hear it for San Marino!

SABATO MUSICALE

From the Concerto per l'Emilia, held in Bologna on 25th June to raise funds for the earthquake-stricken region, a return to the stage after 42 years for Modena-born Caterina Caselli.  Here she joins Francesco Guccini in singing his song, Per fare un uomo:

Concerto per l'Emilia: Francesco Guccini e Caterina Caselli - Per fare un uomo

LAMPEDUSA REACHES OUT

As I said yesterday, no country is better than Italy at its best and the people of Lampedusa have been demonstrating this in recent days:

At the weekend, around 200 students, children and elderly people from the earthquake-stricken areas of the Emilia-Romagna were welcomed to the island for a free holiday so that, away from the constant tremors which continue to shake and terrify their region, they can rest in the sun and recuperate a little.  Some of the students are preparing for their maturità [pre-university] examinations and it is hoped that their stay on the island will enable them to study in an environment in which they can be free of fear.

The idea is the initiative of Antonio Martello of the Lampedusa Hoteliers' Consortium and the Sogni nel Blu travel company, Riccardo Toto of the New Livingston airline company and members of the Lampedusa Business Association.  Mr Martello said that they wanted to show the people of the Emilia-Romagna that the islanders feel close to them in their time of trouble.

I'm sure you will all join me in congratulating the companies who have sponsored the trip and the people of Lampedusa and in wishing the Emilian group a very happy holiday.

AGAIN

Most of you will have read or seen by now that there has been another strong earthquake in Northern Italy, just eight days after the 6.0 quake that terrorised the people of the Province of Modena and displaced thousands, many of whom are being accommodated in tents.  Imagine their fear, then, when a 5.8 quake struck at 9 am today.

The epicentre this time was between Carpi, Medolla and Mirandola, still in the Province of Modena and the quake was felt in parts of  Lombardy, Trentino, Tuscany and even Austria. At 12.56 there was a further, 5.3 quake.

As I write 16 people are reported dead, one person is missing, at least 350 have been injured and 8,000 people are estimated to have been made homeless. The brings the total number of people made homeless by the earthquakes of 20th May and today to a staggering 14,000.  Premier Monti has promised that everything possible will be done to help them.

In such circumstances we must take comfort where we can and at 21.00, exactly twelve hours after this morning's quake, a 60-year-old woman was pulled out of the rubble injured but alive.  The headboard of her bed had protected her as her home collapsed around her.

The University of Bologna, together with the city's schools, will be closed tomorrow whilst safety checks are carried out.  In the city of Modena, where some public buildings have been slightly damaged, schools, cemeteries, museums, swimming pools and theatres will be closed.  I have spent some time in Modena so was sorry to learn that some of the buildings in its lovely historic centre may also have been damaged.

Italians pull together magnificently at times like these and modern technology has also played its part:  when mobile networks in the earthquake-hit area became overloaded this morning, messages asking people to remove their passwords from their wifi systems to enable the rescue services to find people and communicate with each other more efficiently quickly circulated on twitter.  Also on twitter, the singer Laura Pausini urged people in the area whose houses were intact to open up their homes to less fortunate citizens.  If I know Italians, they did not need to be told to do that.

Monday 4th June is to be a national day of mourning in Italy.

A MIRACLE IN THE RUBBLE

If the fates were not smiling upon Italy this weekend, someone or something was looking out for little Vittoria Vultaggio from Obici, a hamlet of Finale Emilia [Province of Modena], yesterday:  At 4.04 am, when the quake struck, the five-year-old was sleeping in her room in a house which comprised some restored seventeenth century structures, including a tower. As the tower collapsed onto the roof of Vittoria's room, it seems that two beams protected the little girl's body.  

Vittoria's father, who, with her mother and two-year-old brother, had been able to exit the house, searched for her frantically with the help of neighbours, among them a Mr Ziosi.  Mr Vultaggio climbed onto the remains of the roof, calling Vittoria's name all the time.  Suddenly he heard her respond.  He and Mr Ziosi managed to locate her and remove rubble from her face but they could not free her body.  

Power lines were down and cellphones were not working so the family were unable to contact the emergency services but Vittoria's mother,  hardly aware of what she was doing in her anxiety and distress, kept tapping numbers on her cellphone. At last, a call somehow got through and was answered by a doctor she knew. Unbeknown to Vittoria's mother, the doctor was on a trip to New York but he immediately grasped the situation and called the emergency services in Rome, who in turn passed on the information to their colleagues in Modena.  Thus the rescue and ambulance teams knew exactly where to go and within another half an hour they managed to pull Vittoria out of the rubble.

In the meantime, Mr Ziosi's son Marcello, who was also in New York, had called his father to find out if he had been injured and for a little while, in the confusion, the Vultaggio family thought that it was Marcello who had made that vital call to Rome.  But Marcello said later that the fact that he had called from New York was just a coincidence and that it was definitely the good doctor, whose name Mr and Mrs Vultaggio cannot quite recall, who had made the call.

Vittoria has suffered some injuries to a leg and is obviously still very frightened but has no fractures.

Today we are thinking of all who have been affected by the two terrible events in Italy over the weekend and of the members of the emergency services, hospital staff and others who are helping them.  Let us also salute the courage of the students of the Istituto Morvillo Falcone in Brindisi, who went back to school this morning, two days after a bomb outside the building killed one of their fellow-students and injured ten others.  Like Vittoria's father, the neighbours who came to his aid and our as yet unnamed doctor, these are the people who represent the real Italy.

BELOVED COUNTRY

This has been such a sad weekend for Italy that, like many others here, I cannot stop crying.  For those of you who may not yet have seen the news, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Northern Italy this morning, leaving at least six dead, 50 injured and perhaps thousands displaced.  The epicentre was 2.4 miles from Camposanto in the Province of Modena, 22 miles north of Bologna.  To give you an idea of the magnitude, the L'Aquila earthquake of 2009 measured 6.3 on the Richter scale.  Now, as then, I offer my beloved adopted country this:

Update at 20.57:  Seven are now confirmed dead and 3,000 people have been made homeless. Premier Mario Monti has said that a state of emergency will be declared in Italy on Tuesday.

REMEMBERING L'AQUILA

The main shock of the 2009 Abruzzo earthquake struck the town of l'Aquila at 3.32 am on 6th April, also causing devastation in Castelnuovo, San Gregorio, Paganica, Poggio Picenze, Sant'Angelo, Tornimparte, Fossa, Onna and other towns. Today I am thinking of earthquake victims everywhere and would like to dedicate Gianna Nannini's stupendous homage to the women of Onna to all of them:

Gianna Nannini, Laura Pausini, Giorgia, Elisa e Fiorella Mannoia - Donna d'Onna

Gianna Nannini - Donna d'Onna

Ora dorme
E chissà se ci sarà
Un letto così grande
Che copre la città D’amore
Sogno che si salverà
Tra le memorie
Sogno che non finirà
Scende la notte nel cuore
Donna non smetterai
Di far nascere il sole
Donna non mentirai
Nel nome della madre
Donna corri nel cielo
che affonda
Tutto il coraggio è con te
Bellezza sogna
Donna dentro ai tuoi occhi ritorna
Luce che ferma la terra
E per la vita resterà
Cade giù dal cielo
come pioggia quel respiro che
ha tremato assieme a te
Non aver paura guarda
la dolcezza cosa fa
Apri le tue braccia e poi sei madre
mentre Dio non guarda più.
Non aver paura guarda
la dolcezza cosa fa
Donna corri nel cielo che affonda
Tutto il dolore che c’è Bellezza
sogna Donna fuoco che sale nell’ombra
Nelle tue mani la guerra
È il figlio che raccoglierai
Cade giù dal cielo come
pioggia quel respiro
che ha tremato assieme a te
Non aver paura
senti la dolcezza che rumore fa
Donna canto nel cielo che affonda
Tutto il coraggio è con te
Bellezza sogna
Donna dentro ai tuoi occhi
ritorna Luce che ferma la terra
E per la vita resterà Donna D’Onna Donna.

Woman of Onna

Now she is sleeping
and who knows if there will be
a bed big enough
to cover the city with love
A dream that will be saved
among the memories
A dream that will not end
Night is falling in the heart
Woman, you will not stop
making the sun rise
Woman, you will not lie
in the name of the mother
Woman, run in the sinking sky
All courage is with you
Dream, beauty
Woman, the light that stops the earth
returns in your eyes
and will stay for a lifetime
That breath that trembled with you
falls from the sky
like rain
Don't be afraid, look
at what gentleness can do
Open your arms and you are a mother
while God is looking away.
Woman, run in the sinking sky
All the pain that there is, beauty
Woman, dream of the fire that rises in shadow
War is the son
you will hold in your hands
That breath that trembled with you

falls from the sky

like rain

Don't be afraid

Listen to the sound of gentleness

Woman, I sing in the sinking sky

of all the courage that is with you

Dream, beauty

Woman, the light that stops the earth

returns in your eyes

and will remain, for a lifetime

a woman,

a woman from Onna.

A SOMBRE SABATO MUSICALE

I'm sure all our thoughts are with the people of Japan this evening and Italians, no strangers to devastating earthquakes themselves, will feel especially close to them at this time.  I am reposting the hymn, sung by Welshwoman Katherine Jenkins, that I posted on that other dreadful day, 6th April 2009:

ITALY MAGAZINE ROUND-UP - 13

Here is my personal pick of last week's Italy Magazine articles:

For my Patti Chiari column I wrote about our lovely Castello di Donnafugata in Ragusa Province.  This is not the Donnafugata mentioned in Il Gattopardo or the one in Marlene de Blasi's book!

Our blog of the week was Napoli Unplugged.  Do take a look at it because I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Our final summer romantic film set in Italy had to be a golden oldie so we looked at September Affair, a weepie with an improbable plot but great actors and a real tear-jerker of a theme song.

Italians, it seems, are rebelling against paying for supplementary services in hotels and, like me, many of them find minibar items to be overpriced.  Let's all rebel together!  In my opinion you can never have enough cookery books and here is one that I am determined to add to my collection, especially as the proceeds will go to the L'Aquila Earthquake Relief Fund.  My Dad [who was not religious] always said that if you wished to worship God, it made sense to do it among the most beautiful of His creations so I would love to see this tree cathedral near Bergamo. Finally, in the news section, we have two police tales:  the first made me chuckle and I loved this heartwarming story of a life saved by the swift actions of a blogger and the Catania police.  Let us hope that the young man concerned is receiving the help and support he needs now. 

I shall be participating in the Bloggers Unite World Suicide Prevention Day event tomorrow.

NO INJURIES IN AEOLIAN ISLANDS QUAKE

Thank God there were no fatalities or injuries in yesterday's earthquake on the Aeolian Islands.  It must have been terrifying, all the same.  Here is my report for Italy Magazine this morning:

An earthquake which struck the Aeolian Islands at 14.54 yesterday caused no injuries but frightened many people, according to Italian media reports. The tremor, measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale, was felt most by bathers on the Valle Muria beach on Lipari, where rocks fell from a cliff into the sea. Some people, running into the sea to escape the falling rocks, were bitten by jellyfish.

Senate Speaker Renato Schifani was in his boat off Lipari when the tremor struck and he saw the falling rocks for himself. Some nearly hit the boat, he said.

A second, small tremor occurred at 21.40 but few people felt it. By that time, tourists and locals alike were out and about enjoying music and refreshments in the streets of Lipari. The rest of the night passed without incident.

Civil Protection Minister Guido Bertolaso lost no time in visiting the area this morning with the Prefect of Messina and the Mayor of Lipari. Mr Bertolaso said that some bathing restrictions on the island had not been observed and that bathers in those zones could have been in danger. Otherwise, he said, the situation is under control.

Geophysicist Enzo Boschi has said that there is no risk of tsunami and that the fall of rocks could have been caused by recent heavy rainfall.

The earthquake that struck Abruzzo in 2009 measured 5.8 on the Richter scale.

Update:  Another seismologist has said that there is a possibility of further, smaller tremors and another tremor of similar magnitude in the area.  Mr Bertolaso has said that it would be hypocritical to pretend that there is no risk, but that the Aeolian Islands will now be one of the best monitored locations in Italy.   He added that it is important for people visiting the area to respect such a beautiful and fragile place.