Tourism hit in Italian region struck by quake

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IANS/AKI | 10 Apr, 2010
The devastating earthquake that struck the central Italian region of Abruzzo a year ago has driven thousands of tourists away.

According to the latest statistics from Abruzzo's culture agency, the number of tourists has fallen by 70 percent - from 100,000 visitors a year to 30,000 in the past 12 months.

Anna Maria Reggiani, director of the local culture agency, said this could present an opportunity to promote the Abruzzo region and raise the quality of local tourism services.

"There needs to be a new face to tourism in Aquila and Abruzzo in general," Reggiani said.

Reggiani said there should be promotion with packages that emphasise the permanence of the buildings which have survived the earthquake and the new innovative criteria which affects new construction.

Santo Stefano di Sessanio, a tiny historic town which was abandoned and restored in Abruzzo, should be the model, she said.

Reggiani said the town had been rebuilt using anti-seismic criteria and apart from the collapse of the town's famous 500-year-old Medici tower, the town had survived last year's quake unscathed.

The picturesque village emerged in the 11th century and for a long time belonged to the barons of Piccolomini from Siena until 1569, when the whole territory was bought by Francesco de Medici, the grand duke of Tuscany.

It suffered a decline after World War II and in recent years established itself as a quaint tourist destination.

"This should be a model for the province of L'Aquila," she said. "If we could convert or create buildings with these criteria, it would also promote cultural tourism, because people could stay for a few days or a week to visit beautiful historic, cultural and artistic sights."

She said several countries had expressed interest in "adopting" a monument by donating funds to restore damaged buildings.