The 6TH April, 2009 L’Aquila Earthquake: Restoration Choices and Pathways

Luciano Marchetti, Former Director General - Ministry for Cultural Heritage, and Vice-Commissioner for reconstruction at L'Aquila

The restoration choices following catastrophic earthquakes have historically pursued different philosophies and methodologies especially with respect to the historical monuments. In Italy there were "centralist" reconstructions as in the Val di Noto, 1693, L'Aquila, 1703, or more pragmatic interventions, like in Friuli 1976 and Irpinia 1980. On the occasion of the most recent earthquakes, Umbria-Marche and Molise, restoring cultural heritage has been classified among the top priorities at the local and national levels, ensuring the reconstruction in a perspective seismic improvement, i.e., without heavy structural measures. The application of the same logic in the case of L'Aquila, where the earthquake hit the center of a capital city, rich in historical and monumental heritage, very significant and concentrated in a limited area with limited access and narrow streets, reduces the possibility of interventions on several structures simultaneously, imposing the securing of the structures for a long time. Securing actions have has been designed so as not to change the structural behavior of the damaged artifacts