To L’Aquila. Amazing photo-ebook about a unique city and its spectacular surroundings.
To L’Aquila. A multimedia ebook guide for iPad & Mac for sale at iTunes & iBookstore, in English and Italian.
Free excerpt and download: US: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/3-to-laquila/id944955027?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Free excerpt and download GB: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/3-to-laquila/id944955027?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Important: the book is available in each iBookstore, in each country.
L’Aquila, April 6, 2009 — 3.32 am. A violent earthquake destroyed much of the city and the surrouding countryside, killing 309 people. It’s been five years and there is still much to do as the reconstruction flounders between delay and speculation. The city has been abandoned and in the hideous new towns built in the middle of nowhere you can sense anger, loneliness and disappointment.
Yet, beauty lives on here. Despite institutional delays and a media that only remembers the city on its tragic anniversary, despite the semi-deserted streets of the town centre, despite this abandonment, the re-birth of L’Aquila is happening slowly — at its own pace. Many architectural jewels miraculously survived the quake and these treasures have been restored by the FAI in record time, unspoiled and honest in nature like the people here.
Ancient history will take the visitor by the hand, guides you through the Roman necropolis and towns: L’Aquila and its spectacular surroundings have much to say to those who will listen. All this is captured in our multimedia ebook. It is a hymn to L’Aquila and its hidden talents, a tribute to its beauty, a shining bright light on its many wonders, all to discover and find for yourself. A journey with photo galleries, audio/video, interactive pictures and a narrative to guide your discovery of this incredible and unspoiled area.
INCIPIT — A Venus from Milos. This is the sudden inspiration we have in mutilated most beautiful L’Aquila. We silently walk down its streets in the centre, abandoned by too many and only partially re-opened to steps and glances, between dust and rubbles, builder-workers and guide-alpines, brave shops and historical coffee bars, hastily re-opening. Just a few, still too few, the on-going businesses. Too slowly do the iron joints give way to scaffoldings: pickaxes, drills and hammers beat the time, which stopped on the night of April 6th 2009, with the earthquake. L’Aquila, ancient city nosediving from the Gran Sasso, hitting deep down our hearts. L’Aquila, the Abruzzo phoenix, thousands of times destroyed, thousands of times reborn. L’Aquila, the wounded warrior unfailingly able to stand up again. Unable to surrender. Immota manet, recites the motto of its Coat of arms. And in fact still it keeps, with its tenacious skill to restart, despite its keen fate, a sort of bad God, casting darts, earthquakes, kings’ revenges and epidemics. Its stories are infinite and not all of them can be told. The most beautiful ones speak for themselves: you just need to stop and listen.
Originally published at www.ariles.it on July 31, 2014.
