Photographic Reportage on the Rebuilding after the Irpinia-Basilicata 1980 Earthquake (Southern Italy)

Abstract

This paper aims to present, through a photographic reportage, the current state of rebuilding of the most devastated villages by the earthquake that hit the Southern Italy on 23 November 1980, in Irpinia-Basilicata. The earthquake was characterized by magnitude Ml = 6.9 and epicentral intensity I0 = X MCS. It was felt throughout Italy with the epicenter in the Southern Apennines, between the regions of Campania and Basilicata that were the most damaged areas. About 800 localities were serious damaged; 7,500 houses were completely destroyed and 27,500 seriously damaged. The photographic survey has been done in 23 towns during the last five years: Castelnuovo di Conza, Conza della Campania, Laviano, Lioni, Santomenna, Sant’Angelo dei Lombardi, Balvano, Caposele, Calabritto and the hamlet of Quaglietta, San Mango sul Calore, San Michele di Serino, Pescopagano, Guardia dei Lombardi, Torella dei Lombardi, Colliano, Romagnano al Monte, Salvitelle, Senerchia, Teora, Bisaccia, Calitri and Avellino. Forty years after the 1980 earthquake, the photographs show villages almost completely rebuilt with modern techniques where reinforced concrete prevails. Only in few instances, the reconstruction was carried out trying to recover the pre-existing building heritage, without changing the original urban planning, or modifying it. We argue that this photography collection allows to assess the real understanding of the geological information for urban planning after a major destructive seismic event. Even more than this, documenting the rebuilding process in a large epicentral area reveals the human legacy to the natural landscape, and our ability, or failure, to properly interpret the environmental fate of a site.

Irpinia Earthquake and History: A Nexus as a Problem

“…The next day, in a discourse to the nation, the President reported the desperate situation and denounced the political responsibilities; the coordination centers, planned in 1970, had never been realized [17]. That day, the historical newspaper of South Italy-"Il Mattino"-suggested 10.000 deaths: the front page had an international echo and soon became a symbol [1,18]. Everything happened under the sight of the world.…”

“…After all, several municipalities still report sites for prefab housing that survived here and there-as in Avellino province-sometimes used, mostly abandoned. In some localities, "temporary" housings still exist [1,20].…”

“…Visual cesura labeled some localities [1]. Bisaccia, in the province of Avellino, has a background of earthquakes and landslides: destroyed by the 1694 seism, devastated by those of 1732, 1930, 1980.…”

“…Use and reuse of these cabins, beyond the practical implications, recall the wish of the community to metabolize the past and, eventually, to produce storytelling. The case of San Mango is not isolated [1]. Romagnano al Monte-gold medal for civil merits: an honor earned for its reconstruction effort-has been rebuilt far from its former millennial settlement.…”

“…Indeed, the event immediately focused the world's gaze on that little-known and remote land of Southern Italy; the concern was also shown by the generous chain of international solidarity. After all, the memory of this broad mobilization is alive and still visible in the place names, as in the case of the "Villaggio Italo-Canadese" of San Mango sul Calorebuilt with the help of Canadians-or the "Bergamo condominium" of Lioni, funded by Bergamo's citizens (Northern Italy) [1]. Furthermore, the rescues on such a large-scale showed different visions of emergency management, exposing cultural barriers other than solidarity between peoples [2].…”