Conferences, exhibitions and films to commemorate one of the strongest and most devastating earthquakes of the twentieth century. It is the commemorative path that the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (Ingv) intends to promote as part of the program of initiatives for the centenary of the Marsica earthquake, also known as the "Avezzano earthquake", one of the urban centers most devastated by the quake . At 7:53 on 13 January one hundred years ago, a terrible earthquake measuring 7 (11th on the Mercalli scale) caused more than 30 victims, striking a very large area of central Italy, with damage also in Rome. "These INGV initiatives", says the President of the Institute, Stefano Gresta "represent an important moment of reflection for the local community and a precious opportunity to accelerate the process of raising awareness of seismic risk on a large scale, with the awareness that compliance with seismic regulations is the only real defense against earthquakes”. Thursday 15 and Friday 16 January at the Orsini-Colonna Castle in Avezzano, the conference “One hundred years after the earthquake. The path of seismic culture”, in collaboration with the Civil Protection Department (Dpc). The event intends to outline the cultural path of the scientific and technological world over a century and show the modern tools useful to society for the purpose of risk mitigation. The conference will take place in a symbolic place of the 1915 tragedy, with the effects of the earthquake still visible today, an ideal stage for discussion on the advances of knowledge and its applications so that similar images do not recur in the future. The event was opened by the President of Ingv, Stefano Gresta, the Head of the Dpc, Franco Gabrielli, the mayor of Avezzano, Giovanni Di Pangrazio, the President of the centenary institution of the Marsica earthquake, Giovanbattista Pitoni and the Councilor for Protection regional civil, Mario Mazzocca. “Reconstructions: Marsica 1915, L'Aquila 2009” is the title of the conference to be held on Saturday 17 January in Pescina (AQ), in the Conference Room of the Teatro San Francesco. The event, which sees the collaboration of the University “G. D'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, traces from an engineering-architectural, geological, historical and economic point of view the problems related to the post-earthquake reconstructions that affected an entire century, between the Marsica earthquake of 1915 and that of L'Aquila of 2009. Greetings were conveyed by the President of Ingv, Stefano Gresta, the Mayor of Pescina, Antonio Iulianella, the President of the Abruzzo Region, Luciano D'Alfonso, the Councilor of the Abruzzo Region, Maurizio Di Nicola. From 1 February to 3 May 2015 it will also be possible to visit the interactive exhibition "1915-2015: one hundred years after the Marsica earthquake", set up in the rooms of the archaeological section of the Piccolomini Castle in Celano. The program involves the design and creation of interactive multimedia exhibits and 2D and 3D films. Ample space will be dedicated to the 1915 earthquake through documents, historical testimonies, photos, videos and educational workshops. To open the exhibition, the documentary “The broken roots. Marsica 1915-2015”, by Lucrezia Lo Bianco and Agostino Pozzi, which tells, through images and testimonies collected in four places in the Marsica, the relocations of inhabited centers following the 1915 earthquake. The initiative represents an opportunity to spread a culture of prevention. "Overall", observes Fabrizio Galadini of the scientific committee of the conferences, "the aim is to highlight the progressive enrichment of scientific knowledge over the course of a century and the translation of the information gradually acquired into regulatory instruments in favor of an increasingly effective approach for defense against earthquakes. In the face of the undeniable scientific and regulatory growth in the field of risk mitigation, it is surprising that even in recent years we have had to complain of huge damages due to earthquakes. The immense effort required to rebuild after the earthquake over the course of a century should alone serve as a warning for a more effective culture of prevention."
Link to the material: Posters, Images
Rome, January 12, 2015