Terre in moto
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On 23 November 1980 an earthquake struck Campania and Basilicata, killing thousands and leaving over 300,000 homeless. There was no civil defense system at the time; volunteers and governmental agencies from all around Italy provided the first rescue forces. The volunteers return to the area 25 years later. This is the starting point of a journey into the memory of the upper and middle Sele and Tanagro valleys located between the provinces of Salerno and Avellino. The event triggered rapid change and social upheaval. In the aftermath, as-yet-uncompleted reconstruction has changed the face of the disaster area. Failed attempts at industrialization driven from above sealed the area’s destiny of backwardness, yet also opened a road to sustainable development. Terre in moto offers a mosaic of local stories, each revealing a piece of the history of the area.
Invited by the Province of Salerno to document the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the earthquake, during our work we met communities in which the earthquake set a dividing line between the time before and that after the event. Not only did it dramatically change the lives of the local people, in both positive and negative terms, the earthquake broke the ground for a swift passage from a traditional rural to a modern industrial society in an area marked by the backwardness typical of many areas in the south of Italy. The brief experience of local post-disaster initiatives with outside volunteers from other parts of Italy led to the formation of a new managerial class.
Geographical areas and populations
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