Tags
Brindisi bombing, Earthquake Italy May 2012, Earthquakes in Italy, Italian earthquakes, Melissa Bassi, Murder in Brindisi
I was sitting on our bed this morning about 9 a.m., finishing the chapter in the book I was reading, when I heard the tinkle, tinkle, tinkle of small objects moving, and a millisecond later felt the bed swaying beneath me. Uh oh, I thought, that sure sounds and feels like an earthquake. I shouted down to Speedy who was working out on the terrace, but he had felt nothing, so I went back to my book.
Later in town, the friend with whom I was having a cuppa in her apartment near the top of a seven-story building asked me if I had felt the earthquake. Oh yes. And no sooner did we start discussing it than we felt an aftershock, much gentler. This was certainly alarming, as an apartment building is no place to be for an earthquake. Fortunately for us, that was the end of it.
But the north/central part of the country was not nearly so fortunate. The 5.8 quake was centered near Modena, right near where the last one occurred, and more buildings, many already weakened by the previous quake, came tumbling down. Early reports indicate ten people have died, and more are trapped under rubble.
A week ago Sunday morning a 6.0 earthquake centered between Bologna and Mantova killed seven people and did untold damage to buildings. Italy is no stranger to earthquake; a rocky country covered with ancient buildings made of stone, the effects are often catastrophic.
#1 is Rapallo, #2 is where the 2nd quake hit, and #3 is where the first quake was centered (roughly)
Meanwhile in Brindisi, just a day before the first quake, a bomb went off outside a girls’ vocational school, killing 16-year-old Melissa Bassi. An only child, she was at the top of her class. I think of her as she might have been earlier in the morning, getting up, getting dressed for school, fixing her hair, putting on make-up, making plans, maybe day-dreaming a little. And then bam, gone before her life was truly under way.
Italy is in mourning. These tragedies, perhaps small in the Grand Scheme of Things, are large in the national psyche. Both instill a sense of fear: on the one hand for the Big One, like the quake that destroyed Aquila in 2009 which killed over three hundred people; and on the other for the return of the ‘years of lead’ in the 1970’s and ’80’s when the Red Brigades terrorized the country.
What these events all have in common is their utter randomness, meaninglessness and ultimate uselessness. Is that what makes them tragedies?
Already beset by a worsening economic crisis, the recent tragedies have only added to the sense of unease abroad in this beautiful country.
An Ex-Expatriate 
Hard to know whether the 24/7 news cycle is to blame, but many of us everywhere live in a constant state of anxiety, wondering when the next disaster will strike. So many possibilities- an earthquake, terrorist attack, car crash (one just drove through to the backyard of woman’s house last week. Thankfully, and amazingly, no one was hurt), new disastrous legislative ruling, sexual abuse, global warming, loss of rights as a woman, and last but not least, the global economic situation. Will China and Germany take over? Will we suffer through rampant inflation? Not to mention all the terrible illnesses that are possible. So- I guess it’s true- live life to the fullest while you can!
Well now you’ve got me downright depressed – that’s a pretty weighty list. Carpe diem – good advice then, and still good advice now.
How very sad for all concerned!
It is sad, and continues to be very frightening for the people who live in that area as there are still many aftershocks. So many lovely old buildings came tumbling down or are severely damaged. And of course the loss of life is awful.
I don’t think the deaths caused by the earthquake and the death of young Melissa are both tragedies. The earthquake was an act of nature, doing what it does and doing so with complete indifference. The bombing and consequent death of someone wholly innocent is most certainly tragic, for Mellisa can have done nothing to cause her own death, but was doing only what she ought.
Aha. You are someone who knows the correct definition of tragedy. But for those around the epicenter of the quake it feels like a tragedy, no matter how disinterested mother earth may be (and sometimes I have my doubts about that. woo woo).
All our thoughts are with those in Italy, especially the affected region. I hope the country can come out stronger in the end!
One thinks of Italy as being both timeless and permanent, but recent events have put those assumptions to the test. A friend told me today she recently visited Aquila – where there has not been enough money to effect repairs. That’s a really sad commentary on the fiscal state of the country.
A moving and well put together account of tragedies that have taken place over the last week or so. I have friends in Chiavari and even though I don’t think the quakes will affect them much it is worrying. My feelings go out to those who are affected by what’s happened.
Thanks, Paul. We’re all fine on the coast, but the poor people in Emilia – they have to live with what’s already happened and with fear of what might happen in the future. Chiavari is a beautiful town, one of our very favorites. I hope you’ve had a chance to spend some time there.