Feature: Italy's quake-hit L'Aquila sees first recovery light after too long wait

Exactly seven years ago, 309 people lost their lives and hundreds were injured in L'Aquila, an old town in central Italy hit by a devastating earthquake. After too long a wait, citizens and tourists said L'Aquila is now seeing a first light of recovery.

"This is my first time in L'Aquila after the quake. We live not far from here, and when the earthquake happened we hosted some families for a while," said Elisabetta Amen while walking around with a group of adults and children.

"We took them here so to make them aware of this sad chapter of Italy's recent history," Amen told Xinhua, pointing at the children around her.

Today, L'Aquila is still home to around 70,000 people, yet the historic part remains a sort of ghost town as the thousands who lost their homes were re-housed in new buildings in redeveloped suburbs in the course of years.

"We have come here every year since the disaster happened. We are not from L'Aquila, we live near Rome, but we have developed a deep affection for this medieval art treasure which was hit in the heart," said Massimo Raviglia while walking with his wife in a city center quite empty of people.

According to AGI news agency, Italian authorities have allocated a total of 21 billion euros (about 24 billion U.S. dollars) in public and private relief funds, and say now that they will be able to finish rebuilding the entire town by 2022.

"We have supported many charity initiatives to support the reconstruction of L'Aquila, and we are glad that this year for the first time we have seen some slight improvement," Raviglia said, pointing at the rubbing materials and trenches around him.

ANSA news agency on Wednesday defined the town as "the biggest building site in Europe at present," and said that reconstruction works are proceeding at fast pace, with around 55 percent of the historic center already restored.

The pain of L'Aquila's citizens, however, has been embittered in the course of years by a string of high-profile corruption scandals and bureaucratic logjams which have repeatedly dogged rebuilding attempts, despite continuous pledges from authorities to weed out criminal infiltration and increase transparency.

Also, Italy's highest court last November confirmed an appeals sentence that acquitted seven scientists and officials who were members of a state commission that met days before the earthquake but allegedly did not issue a strong enough warning.

Giuseppe Colaneri is the owner of one of the few shops that have been reopened in the town's central area.

"In these days newspapers have listed alleged funds that certainly highlight an attention of the government. However, I have always been here, and I can say that we did not see a real euro. Most of the achievements so far have been only due to the financial efforts of private citizens," he told Xinhua.

Colaneri said his shop was able to survive the disaster thanks to the flows of visitors who still are very numerous in the wounded city.

"Things are certainly going better now, finally the reconstruction process has started. But we are aware that we can only rely on ourselves," he insisted.

Around 7,000 people carried candles and marched in memorial of the dead in L'Aquila on Tuesday night.

"Our sorrow will never end. But look around and you will find some 300 cranes at work," said a street artist who asked Xinhua to remain anonymous.

"Our town used to be filled with art heritage which has been heavily damaged by the quake. I know many residents who have already come back to their homes in the city center, but art treasures need much more time to be accurately restored," she highlighted.

"We are confident that we will have our town back one day. I have never moved from here, and I am looking forward to that day," she told Xinhua.

"Do you want to know when will it happen? There is a bank over there, named Cassa di Risparmio dell'Aquila (L'Aquila's savings bank). Everybody here says that when that building will be restored, then L'Aquila will be back again," she said. Endit