On the way from Rome to Ancona yesterday we made an impromptu stop in L'Aquila. I vaguely remembered that it had suffered an earthquake a few years ago, but I wasn't at all prepared for the scale of damage that is still present. The historic center of the city is essentially a ghost town, with virtually all buildings still showing obvious earthquake damage and some whole streets cordoned off. Most of the buildings had various sorts of temporary bracing in place to hold them together. The black grid in the photo is a set of steel I-beams that are bolted through many of the buildings. The whole experience was very sobering.
On a different note, I had forgetten what a goat rodeo the Fiumicino airport in Rome is. After some tense moments, we did get the kids on a plane for Toronto yesterday, concluding the family portion of our trip. The kids arrived home safely with the obligatory one lost bag that seems to be part of any flight to or from Italy.
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