Italians honor the 308 victims of the 2009 L’Aquila quake with a candlelit vigil
By APTuesday, April 6, 2010
L’Aquila honors quake victims with candlelit vigil
ROME — Thousands of Italians held a candlelight vigil to remember the 308 people killed in the earthquake that devastated the central city of L’Aquila a year ago.
About 25,000 people, both residents and outsiders showing their solidarity, walked somberly in a procession early Tuesday through the medieval streets of the city carrying torches and candles.
They gathered in front of the city’s cathedral and fell silent Tuesday at 3:32 a.m., the time a 6.3-magnitude quake struck last April 6 and sent people fleeing from crumbling homes. The name of each victim was read out and then a church bell tolled 308 times.
Some residents voiced anger at the pace of the reconstruction, and the fact they have not yet been allowed to return to homes in the historic center.
