By Craig Whitlock Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, July 8, 2009 L'AQUILA, Italy, July 7 -- After an earthquake shattered this mountain city in April, killing 296 people and leaving tens of ed hardy ties
thousands homeless, the Italian government decided to move the Group of Eight summit here to draw global attention to the rebuilding effort Since then, however, this geologically unstable region has been plagued by a series of aftershocks, fraying nerves in an already jittery population and raising doubts about whether L'Aquila is the best place for leaders of the world's top industrial nations to meet under one roof. On Friday, a 4.1-magnitude temblor rattled buildings and triggered car alarms. Although no one was hurt and no damage reported, civil defense officials said the epicenter was about a half-mile from the police barracks in L'Aquila where the main summit meetings will be held. The tremor prompted Italian authorities to acknowledge, for the first time, that they have prepared an evacuation plan to airlift world leaders from L'Aquila if necessary during the three-day summit, which begins Wednesday. Italian officials previously downplayed the risks, noting that the concrete-reinforced police barracks had survived the April 6 quake, which registered 5.8 on the Richter scale,the are still else Italian -refugees as the days go byunder a large blue tent along actually summit.L'Maddalena, protesters Nino Ragoste, a pie maker at the Vento di Pizza lunch counter in L'Aquila, said residents and business owners are cautiously optimistic that Berlusconi will make good on his pledges. "He promises a lot -- the first homes are supposed to be ready by September, and everybody in a house by November," Ragoste said.ed hardy wallets/ luggage
"Right now, I think it might actually happen." On Wednesday, Berlusconi will take President Obama on a tour of L'Aquila's city center, which was devastated by the quake and remains largely uninhabited. The leaders will visit the Santa Maria di Paganica church, which dates from the 14th century but saw its roof and bell tower collapse during the April 6 quake. The Italian prime minister is also scheduled to escort German Chancellor Angela Merkel on a tour of the nearby village of Onna, where 40 people were killed out of a population of 300. Germany has already pledged to rebuild the village church. All told, Italy is ed hardy watches
trying to raise $42 million in international donations to restore monuments, churches and other historic structures in the region. the article is from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/07/AR2009070702522.html