40 years on, why the Irpinia earthquake is remembered as Italy’s ‘worst catastrophe’
Italy on Monday marks 40 years since the devastating Irpinia earthquake, which killed thousands and changed southern Italy forever. People across Italy and beyond shared photos and memories of what has been called the Republic’s “worst catastrophe”.
On the evening of November 23rd 1980, a devastating earthquake hit southern Italy claiming almost 3,000 lives. tI lasted no more than a minute, but it changed the area forever.
The 6.9-magnitude quake destroyed dozens of villages, injured around 8,000 people and left around 300,000 homeless in the southern Italian regions of Basilicata, Campania and Puglia.
#Terremoto80 Era la sera del #23novembre di 40 anni fa. La scossa durò poco più di un minuto. All'indomani del sisma in Irpinia il cantautore Pino Daniele scrisse una intensa canzone. Dura poco più di un minuto "E' Sempe Sera" pic.twitter.com/92uXv2xmua
— Dipartimento Protezione Civile (@DPCgov) November 20, 2020
November 23, 1980, a magnitude 6.8 #earthquake hits the Italian city of Irpinia (Italy), 2.600 people are killed. The shaking was so strong that the needle of this seismometer broke off https://t.co/xF6hfNW2wm pic.twitter.com/ytdLk7pCU5
— History_of_Geology (@Geology_History) November 23, 2020
Shockwaves were felt from Sicily to the Po Valley in the north. Images of the aftermath shook people across Italy, and the world.
Memories of the day are fresh in many peoples’ minds today.
Remembering the #Irpinia #terremoto 40 years ago.
? ? ? pic.twitter.com/OVULdRKRsV
— Azzurra T. (@Bluemoon2521) November 23, 2020
#OnThisDay 40 years ago, remembering about 3000 casualties ??. It was a Sunday afternoon and I was strolling with friends less than 50 miles from the epicentre -a feeling that cannot be forgotten. https://t.co/njoyALHi20
— Raffaella Ocone (@RaffaellaOcone) November 23, 2020
President Sergio Mattarella on Monday described the Irpinia earthquake as the worst catastrophe in the history of the Italian Republic.
“40 years have passed since the enormous tragedy caused by the earthquake that devastated Irpinia and Basilicata, also affecting part of Puglia,” he said in a statement issued on Monday.
“Nearly three thousand people died under the rubble of their homes, or as a result of the destruction of buildings. Many lives could not be saved due to the difficulties and delays in the rescue.”
Reports say it took up to 48 hours for rescuers to reach some of the worst-hit villages.
Today it's 40 years since the earthquake in Irpinia, southern Italy, that caused 3,000 deaths. In the following days, the Naples newspaper titled "Hurry up", and then Andy Warhol made it a masterpiece for Lucio Amelio's "Terrae motus" collection: https://t.co/zj4EmmSxOd pic.twitter.com/sGEGeXM0p6
— Giovanni Gugg (@gioggsan) November 23, 2020
Quarant’anni fa, il #23novembre del 1980, la terra trema in Irpinia provocando migliaia di morti. Un giorno tragico che #RaiTeche e il poeta Franco Arminio fanno rivivere in:
“Fate presto, 23 novembre 1980, storia di un terremoto”
Vedi su #RaiPlay?https://t.co/yJBDiYjhIt pic.twitter.com/rbG94Pw2jx
— Rai1 (@RaiUno) November 23, 2020
“On the anniversary of the most catastrophic event in republican history, I would first like to remember the victims, and with them the inextinguishable pain of their families, to whom I express my feelings of closeness,” Mattarella said, adding that “suffering, despair, and sacrifices have continued for years on the road to reconstruction.”
People from across Italy were involved in the rescue and rebuilding effort, and aid in various forms came from far and wide over the following months and years.
#23novembre 1980, il #terremoto in #Irpinia. Durò oltre un minuto la terribile scossa che in una sera d'inizio inverno di 40 anni fa rase al suolo 36 paesi al confine tra la Campania e la Basilicata. Una tragedia immane che commuove e addolora, ora come allora.#Terremoto80 pic.twitter.com/GlNhmjIb8h
— Dipartimento Protezione Civile (@DPCgov) November 23, 2020
In 1981 when we purchased a new Mobile Library, our old vehicle was sent from #Orkney to Basilicat in the south of Italy to provide a temporary school library service following the devastating Irpinia earthquake which struck in November 1980. pic.twitter.com/HVLEsJ0n6T
— Orkney Library (@OrkneyLibrary) November 18, 2020
Four decades later, some reconstruction work still stands unfinished.
One off the most well-known stories of the disaster is of the church in Balvano, Potenza, where 66 children and teenagers were killed when the earthquake brought down the church roof, effectively erasing a generation of the town.Today the rebuilt church stands as a memorial to the lost generation.
#23novembre1980.
Avevo solo 12 anni, ricordo bene quel maledetto giorno..
Il mio persiero va ai 66 bambini che persero la vita nel crollo della chiesa di #Balvano ( PZ ) pic.twitter.com/1WzfXXrC79
— Elio 68. (@Elio83271574) November 23, 2020
Today the University of Basilicata, in Potenza, was built on a site where buildings were flattened by the earthquake.
It was built partly as an attempt to stop, or at least slow down, the emigration of young people from the south to other parts of the country and abroad.
T university was completed in 1991, and the then-President of italy, Francesco Cossiga, addressed students in a lecture hall, saying: "My invitation to you is to have the courage to stay in the unfortunate south, in this poor land of yours."
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#Terremoto80 Era la sera del #23novembre di 40 anni fa. La scossa durò poco più di un minuto. All'indomani del sisma in Irpinia il cantautore Pino Daniele scrisse una intensa canzone. Dura poco più di un minuto "E' Sempe Sera" pic.twitter.com/92uXv2xmua
— Dipartimento Protezione Civile (@DPCgov) November 20, 2020
November 23, 1980, a magnitude 6.8 #earthquake hits the Italian city of Irpinia (Italy), 2.600 people are killed. The shaking was so strong that the needle of this seismometer broke off https://t.co/xF6hfNW2wm pic.twitter.com/ytdLk7pCU5
— History_of_Geology (@Geology_History) November 23, 2020
Remembering the #Irpinia #terremoto 40 years ago.
— Azzurra T. (@Bluemoon2521) November 23, 2020
? ? ? pic.twitter.com/OVULdRKRsV
#OnThisDay 40 years ago, remembering about 3000 casualties ??. It was a Sunday afternoon and I was strolling with friends less than 50 miles from the epicentre -a feeling that cannot be forgotten. https://t.co/njoyALHi20
— Raffaella Ocone (@RaffaellaOcone) November 23, 2020
Today it's 40 years since the earthquake in Irpinia, southern Italy, that caused 3,000 deaths. In the following days, the Naples newspaper titled "Hurry up", and then Andy Warhol made it a masterpiece for Lucio Amelio's "Terrae motus" collection: https://t.co/zj4EmmSxOd pic.twitter.com/sGEGeXM0p6
— Giovanni Gugg (@gioggsan) November 23, 2020
Quarant’anni fa, il #23novembre del 1980, la terra trema in Irpinia provocando migliaia di morti. Un giorno tragico che #RaiTeche e il poeta Franco Arminio fanno rivivere in:
— Rai1 (@RaiUno) November 23, 2020
“Fate presto, 23 novembre 1980, storia di un terremoto”
Vedi su #RaiPlay?https://t.co/yJBDiYjhIt pic.twitter.com/rbG94Pw2jx
People from across Italy were involved in the rescue and rebuilding effort, and aid in various forms came from far and wide over the following months and years.
#23novembre 1980, il #terremoto in #Irpinia. Durò oltre un minuto la terribile scossa che in una sera d'inizio inverno di 40 anni fa rase al suolo 36 paesi al confine tra la Campania e la Basilicata. Una tragedia immane che commuove e addolora, ora come allora.#Terremoto80 pic.twitter.com/GlNhmjIb8h
— Dipartimento Protezione Civile (@DPCgov) November 23, 2020
In 1981 when we purchased a new Mobile Library, our old vehicle was sent from #Orkney to Basilicat in the south of Italy to provide a temporary school library service following the devastating Irpinia earthquake which struck in November 1980. pic.twitter.com/HVLEsJ0n6T
— Orkney Library (@OrkneyLibrary) November 18, 2020
#23novembre1980.
— Elio 68. (@Elio83271574) November 23, 2020
Avevo solo 12 anni, ricordo bene quel maledetto giorno..
Il mio persiero va ai 66 bambini che persero la vita nel crollo della chiesa di #Balvano ( PZ ) pic.twitter.com/1WzfXXrC79
Today the University of Basilicata, in Potenza, was built on a site where buildings were flattened by the earthquake.
It was built partly as an attempt to stop, or at least slow down, the emigration of young people from the south to other parts of the country and abroad.
T university was completed in 1991, and the then-President of italy, Francesco Cossiga, addressed students in a lecture hall, saying: "My invitation to you is to have the courage to stay in the unfortunate south, in this poor land of yours."
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