Heartquake

This past week, the Zanti’s German exchange student from last year, Lisa, has been staying with us for her Easter vacation. It’s been a full house and lots of fun, and the Zantis have enjoyed having their complete family of six finally together! To celebrate her arrival last weekend, we all went to the theater in Carpi to watch a musical called Heartquake (which actually featured my two aunts!). To be honest, I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy a musical, but I was so glad that I went. First off, the theater was absolutely stunning; it has a classical feel with ornate decorations and multiple floors of box seats. But what I enjoyed even more was the production itself. Heartquake is an original piece that chronicles the events surrounding the earthquakes that devastated the region two years ago. I enjoyed the musical because it helped me to better understand and grasp the severity of the most important event in the region’s recent history.

 

Our box seats

The whole family outside the theater

The first earthquake to hit the area was a 5.9 and hit during the night of May 20, 2012.  The epicenter was about an hour away from Carpi and didn’t cause a lot of damage to Carpi itself, but left thousands homeless and destroyed many buildings further north. But unfortunately the tremor weakened a lot of buildings in the Carpi area, which eventually collapsed in the following May 29^th earthquake. The May 29^th earthquake was more devastating and much more traumatic for this community. Though it was only 5.8 in magnitude, the epicenter was a mere 15 miles away from downtown Carpi. Many buildings, including the Duomo, theater, and a part of the high school collapsed, and an estimated 10,000 people were left homeless throughout northern Italy. The effects of the earthquake are still quite evident today. Cranes are heavily scattered throughout the area and many houses and public buildings are still under repair. In fact, the Duomo, which is many ways the symbol of Carpi is still under construction. The Zantis were lucky to come out of the situation relatively unscathed, but I have a few friends whose houses were razed.

Though the musical covered the tragic events, it spun them to focus on how the community was able to rally together. In many ways, it is remarkable the progress that has been made in two years considering the government’s lack of support in terms of funding and aid. All in all, it was a catastrophic event that everyone remembers, but it is also one that has united the whole region.