L'Aquila: France's ambassador to Italy admires the restoration of the church of Santa Maria del Suffragio

On the morning of Monday, June 18, French Ambassador to Italy Christian Masset visited L’Aquila to admire the newly restored church of Santa Maria del Suffragio. Welcomed by Superintendent Alessandra Vittorini, Monsignor Giuseppe Petrocchi and Mayor Pierluigi Biondi, Masset admired the result of the restoration, shared by France and Italy, which restored the building in the heart of the city to its original splendor before it was hit by the infamous 2009 earthquake.

"I am honored and very excited today. In 2009, I was in charge of the G8 and G20 and saw L’Aquila within weeks of the earthquake. This is the first time I’ve been back to the city since that date and seeing all these cranes, the old buildings returned to their splendor, the restorations and construction sites, moved me, it’s an important sign of the rebirth of the city," said the French ambassador.

The construction site for the church of Santa Maria del Suffragio opened in October 1713; the restoration site, managed by the Mibact Regional Secretariat for Abruzzo and shared by France and Italy, however, was was started after three hundred years, in February 2014, bringing to fruition a path of cooperation begun after the 2009 earthquake with the Interministerial Protocol signed in 2010, and perfected with the additional act signed by the parties in August 2012, which provided for financial support from France of 3 million 250 thousand euros.
The reconstruction of the dome and the rediscovered facade were a “foretaste” of what will be the most awaited moment, that of the return of the monument to its function and to the city, which is set to arrive by the end of the year, to enshrine an established collaboration between the two states, far beyond institutional commitments.

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L'Aquila: France's ambassador to Italy admires the restoration of the church of Santa Maria del Suffragio

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