National day of mourning today for the victims of the earthquake in Central Italy. The funeral in Ascoli was attended by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, the President of the Senate, Grasso, and of the Chamber Boldrini.
In his homily, the bishop of Ascoli, D'Ercole, said: “Dust, everything is now dust. Yet, under the rubble there is something that tells us that our bells will ring again, they will find the ringing of Easter morning” because “our land is populated by people who are not discouraged”.
Before the funeral, Mattarella visited the places of the disaster, the wounded in the Ascoli hospital and the displaced people in the tent cities to whom he solemnly promised: "We will not leave you alone".
Meanwhile, the judiciary is investigating the hypothesis of the crime of culpable disaster. "What happened cannot be just the result of fate and I have to think that some buildings were built sparingly, using more sand than cement," said the Chief Prosecutor of the Republic of Rieti, Giuseppe Saieva.
Finally, the chain of solidarity continues: so far 6 million euros have already been collected with text messages to 45500 activated by the Civil Protection.
