During the night of Monday 6th April, 2009 an earthquake of magnitude 6,2 on the Richter scale hit L’Aquila and many nearby towns, causing almost 300 victims, 1,500 to be wounded and approximately 70 thousand were made homeless.

“Castles made of playing-cards” (2009) is a documentation of those days, where the absence of body-bags, the special sacks used to transport dead bodies in emergencies, many of which Italy has donated to Libya over the past years, required the first rescuers on the scene to wrap the corpses in odd covers found among the rubble. The initial difficulty in organizing rescue operations, caused by the collapse of those very institutions that should have co-ordinated the emergency during its early phases, made the inadequacy of the anti-seismic norms in Italy evident, once again. Far from the regional town-centre, immediately following the quake, but also after many months, numerous inhabitants have had to return to their homes which are still in a precarious condition to salvage their personal belongings: acts of thievery have often robbed the people of their few possessions that had been saved from the earth’s tremors. With the help of psychologists and clowns, always ready to put a smile on children’s and their parent’s faces, the population is slowly trying to return to normality in a border-line territory between mountains and large extensions of vegetation, placid and at the same time incensed, which seems to admonish, yet again, the hand of devious men. 

A house in ruins after the earthquake of 6 April, that took the population of Abruzzo by surprise in their sleep. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A house in ruins after the earthquake of 6 April, that took the population of Abruzzo by surprise in their sleep. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A man, returning to his home to recuperate a few personal belongings, is taken by surprise, once again, by an after-shock tremor. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A man, returning to his home to recuperate a few personal belongings, is taken by surprise, once again, by an after-shock tremor. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A woman wanders alone in the ‘ghost-town’ of the historical centre a few days after the earthquake. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A woman wanders alone in the ‘ghost-town’ of the historical centre a few days after the earthquake. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Diego and Dario, 17 years old, united in heart-ache for the death of a young friend, their contemporary. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Diego and Dario, 17 years old, united in heart-ache for the death of a young friend, their contemporary. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
The bedroom in a house badly damaged by the earthquake that took place on April 6. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
The bedroom in a house badly damaged by the earthquake that took place on April 6. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Moments of reflexion and hope in a tent city. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Moments of reflexion and hope in a tent city. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Recollections inside a house. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Recollections inside a house. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A collapsed bridge at Fossa, a small town a short distance from the regional centre of L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A collapsed bridge at Fossa, a small town a short distance from the regional centre of L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of people gathered around the sports field where a tent camp has been set up. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of people gathered around the sports field where a tent camp has been set up. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
The bedroom in a council house. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
The bedroom in a council house. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some firefighters are seen carrying a woman who was found dead at her apartment in the historical centre. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some firefighters are seen carrying a woman who was found dead at her apartment in the historical centre. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A view of the historical centre badly damaged by the earthquake. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A view of the historical centre badly damaged by the earthquake. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Stefania cries thinking about the night of 6 April in which her two children, both deaf from birth, lost their cochlear-aids necessary for them to communicate. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Stefania cries thinking about the night of 6 April in which her two children, both deaf from birth, lost their cochlear-aids necessary for them to communicate. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
The State funeral for over 200 victims of the earthquake of 6 April. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
The State funeral for over 200 victims of the earthquake of 6 April. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
The funeral arrangements for the over 200 victims of the earthquake that took place on April 6. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
The funeral arrangements for the over 200 victims of the earthquake that took place on April 6. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A scene of everyday life at the tent camp in L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A scene of everyday life at the tent camp in L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Fallen mannequins in the window of a store in the historic centre badly damaged by the earthquake. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Fallen mannequins in the window of a store in the historic centre badly damaged by the earthquake. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A woman is seen in the vicinity of a fence. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
A woman is seen in the vicinity of a fence. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
With the help of psychologists and clowns, always ready to put a smile on children’s and their parent’s faces, the population is slowly trying to return to normality. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
With the help of psychologists and clowns, always ready to put a smile on children’s and their parent’s faces, the population is slowly trying to return to normality. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some buildings badly damaged by the earthquake. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some buildings badly damaged by the earthquake. L’Aquila, Italy 2009. © Matteo Bastianelli

CASTLES MADE OF PLAYING-CARDS (2009)