That night many of us will never forget: they were exactly 3.36 on 24 August 2016 when the first strong earthquake, of magnitude 6.0 and with its epicenter located along the Valle del Tronto, it particularly affected the towns of Amatrice, Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto. There were a total of 299 victims (of which 239 in Amatrice alone), a very painful definitive balance, which was also accompanied by the wound of seeing a symbolic village in Central Italy like Amatrice almost completely destroyed, which we all know for its history and for the name given to an iconic dish of Italian cuisine and culture.
Three years after the tragic event, which in the same seismic swarm was followed by the shock (even greater in intensity, at magnitude 6.5) of 30 October 2016 in Norcia and by those, a few days earlier, with epicenters on the Umbria-Marche border, between municipalities in the province of Macerata di Visso, Ussita and Castelsantangelo sul Nera, the theme is always the same, which often occurs after natural disasters in Italy: What stage is the reconstruction at? What attention has been and is being given to the thousands of displaced citizens, after having lost their homes, relatives and friends?
Today, Amatrice is a ghost town. Tourism hasn't stopped, indeed partly out of solidarity, partly out of curiosity, partly for food and wine reasons, it is still active, albeit with the ban on taking selfies ("Place of respect", rightly reads a sign), but the population is slow. The medieval village is still largely a pile of rubble and the population is halving: before 24 August 2016 there were 2.700 residents, now they are 1.500. And none of them got their homes back: they all still live with relatives, friends, or in the 537 "temporary housing solutions" prepared in the following months by the Civil Protection, with the then Renzi government.
In total, considering all the municipalities affected, 77% of the total 49.285 homeless opted for the contribution of autonomous accommodation, while 8.108 are sleeping in temporary "little houses" and even 1.364 still staying in a hotel three years later. To date, only 2.788 applications for reconstruction have been submitted, equal to just 3,5% of people who have actually suffered damage to their homes.
Above all, one of the problems is the escape of the youngest, who should ensure a future for these territories close to Lazio, Umbria, Marche and Abruzzo, which include a total of 138 Municipalities. On the other hand, however, in Amatrice reopened the school, donated by FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne before his disappearance, 13 months ago: 40 children from Accumoli also go to study there, amidst a thousand difficulties. But with the hope of returning to normal.
