It is fifteen years since the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck Abruzzo at 3.32am on 6 April 2009, taking the lives of 309 people and leaving 70,000 homeless in around fifty-six towns. My heart is with those who lost so much… the victims, their loved ones, all those who were displaced, the many still working hard to recover and rebuild in the long years following.
I’m often asked by those who’ve read of the earthquake in my books how Fossa is now and what happened to the centuries-old house lived in by generations of my family that I was so fortunate to have stayed in too. Well, the house remains damaged, as it was the day of the earthquake, since looted and at the mercy of the elements. I’m unsure of its future at this stage, that is in other hands. Where it sits in the worst hit, ‘zono rosso’, red zone of Fossa largely remains empty and often called a ‘ghost town’. However! I’m very pleased to say that in parts of Fossa, especially around the outskirts, there is reconstruction work being done and people are returning to the town. I always held hope this would happen and it’s truly wonderful to see it seems to be. Che possa continuare!!
So in the spirit of the town’s hopeful return, I thought I’d share this photo from when Nanna Francesca and Nonno Anni were there in 1975 and Fossa was bustling and lively with much going on. I can’t be certain of the festival but I’m guessing San Antonio – perhaps someone recognises it. The parade is coming down towards the bar and main piazza (I can see Nanna Francesca beaming!) and it’s wonderful it appears pretty much the entire village are involved, all ages. Fossa has long been a thriving, beautiful town and has so much history. I look forward with much hope to its dwellings and streets being full of life like this once again along with all those across Abruzzo. ❤️🌠
This artwork is called, Nature Thriving by Gianna Fallavollita and if you look closely, you’ll see it is a front door in Fossa, which has been a ghost town since the 2009 Abruzzo earthquake. I have to say, it evokes many different emotions to see the town where my ancestors lived over more than six centuries, now gradually being taken over by nature, forever entwined with Monte Circolo on which it sits.
Gianna, whose parents are from Abruzzo and who has a strong connection to her own Italian heritage, contacted me to tell me how much Mezza Italiana resonated with her and I was so touched and thrilled when she said this has also inspired her to create a series of artworks depicting my family’s town of Fossa in, ‘Where the Wild Things Thrive’, a group exhibition currently on display until Sunday 26th November, 2023 at Back2Back Gallery, 57 Bull Street, Cooks Hill, Newcastle.
My deepest thanks to you, Gianna, and for your beautiful art. I hope so too. I’m still heartbroken about what happened to Fossa and many other beautiful towns in Abruzzo after the earthquake. Particularly that it will soon be 15 years, in April, that most residents have been unable to return to their homes in Fossa. Some of these houses, like my family’s one, which I wrote about in Mezza Italiana, have belonged to the same families for hundreds of years.
I’ve long had a love of art and it feels particularly special to discover my writing may in some small way have played a part in some of Gianna Fallavollita’s artworks. I hope that together these may convey how natural disasters continue to affect a place and its inhabitants long after the media reports have faded away.
Zoë Boccabella 