The timely assistance of the army, which had
around 100,000 troops deployed in the Region at that time (making up two-thirds
of the Italian Army and one-third of all the Armed Forces), was also crucial
when attention had to turn to those who had been left homeless after the
injured had been recovered and the sites secured.
Following the events of May, attention turned to
sports fields for the initial sheltering of the homeless. These sites offered
open, level ground capable of accommodating the many tents that could provide
temporary shelter for the populations of dozens of towns, at least for the
summer. The army did not possess the necessary equipment to undertake such an
endeavour, so the Region urgently purchased what was needed, some of which was
donated by various European armed forces and institutions.
Many tents arrived from neighbouring Austria,
the first country to provide aid, and from Switzerland, which, in the early
stages of the relief effort, sent approximately 250 tents alongside other
essential supplies. The Bundeswehr (the army of West Germany) and the Armée
Belge (the Belgian army) brought in and set up other tents and camp beds. The
British Army also sent tents, beds and blankets, and further supplies arrived
from Red Cross organisations in other European countries. The first camps were
set up within about twenty days, with a total capacity of almost 80,000 people.
Many people also found shelter in railway
carriages made available by State Railways, while caravans began arriving in
Friuli from all over Italy, often brought spontaneously by individual citizens.
Despite the extremely serious damage and high number of destroyed buildings in
most towns, the historic urban structure had held, and the centre had not been
irreparably damaged, meaning it could be restored. Consequently, the initial
inclination of the people of Friuli was to remain close to home: in addition to
the tented camps on sports fields and caravan villages that sprang up next to
towns and hamlets awaiting reconstruction, many families set up temporary
shelters outside the designated areas. These were placed next to partially
damaged buildings, artisanal sheds that had withstood the shock, or stables, so
that they could care for their livestock or tend their vegetable gardens.
In addition to the 184 tent camps, around a
thousand other small settlements were created to accommodate families affected
by the earthquake who wanted to stay in their towns. At the beginning of
summer, staying in tents or using the caravan villages was favoured over
leaving the area, not only to meet the demands of the communities, but also
because of a lack of concrete data on the accommodation capacity of the coastal
areas, which were preparing to welcome summer tourists that month. In fact,
there was a lack of concrete data on the accommodation capacity of these
seaside territories, which, in May, were preparing to welcome summer tourists.
Furthermore, there was a fear that the tragedy might trigger a new wave of
emigration like that which, in the 1950s and 1960s, had pushed many Friulians
abroad once again after the war.
In the tent camps, entirely original forms of
self-management developed to coordinate collective needs, such as the canteen,
relations with volunteers and law enforcement, and communication between
settlements. These forms of self-management also aimed to bring order and
effectiveness to the work of institutions operating in the area, including the
Municipalities, the regional government, and the Special Commissioner, in order
to deal with the emergency as effectively as possible. The Coordination Committees
that emerged in the temporary settlements were an extraordinary example of
“grassroots” self-government and solidarity between generations. The ancient
communal experience of village life merged among the tents with the tradition
of shared work, the altruistic and collective spirit of the many Alpini, and
the ideas of the new generations and young people of the 1960s and 1970s. The
strong politicisation of society at that time was reflected in the coexistence
of various movements, ranging from Lotta Continua (Permanent Fight)
to Comunione e Liberazione (Communion and Liberation). The Bollettino
del Coordinamento delle Tendopoli (Bulletin of the Coordination of the
Tent Camps) was created spontaneously, providing a valuable monitoring and
communication tool that was also often used by the elected mayors of the
impacted Municipalities. From 1978, this was followed by In Uaite (On
guard), the coordination newspaper of the earthquake-affected towns
directed by Mauro Tosoni.
Only eight years after the Belice earthquake,
the images of the Sicilian population still living in prefabricated units were
very much present. Efforts were therefore made, in every possible way, to
reduce the fear that accommodation in temporary housing might become “forever”.
From the outset, the Italian Minister of the Interior, Francesco Cossiga,
stated that the tent camps were a temporary measure and that «definitive»
solutions had to be considered immediately. He made this statement after
visiting Friuli in May with Aldo Moro, the Prime Minister of Italy at the time.
Several Friulian intellectuals put forward
alternative proposals to the plans of the Government, which advocated the use
of uncomfortable tents. Vittorino Meloni, the editor of «Messaggero
Veneto», continued to oppose
the prefabricated units and proposed replacing the tents with caravans. Pre
Toni Beline (Father Pier Antonio Bellina), a well-known journalist and writer
in the Friulian language with a large following among the population, instead proposed
housing the homeless in barracks. Friulian historian Gino di Caporiacco
suggested using industrial sheds for housing families. These could be built
quickly and would be partly reusable once the emergency was over, serving as
multipurpose facilities for local communities.
With the political elections scheduled for June
20 and 21 approaching, the candidates chose to avoid disparaging terms such as
“shacks” or “barracks”, preferring the expression “substitute dwellings”, in
order to convey the idea of a provisional but dignified solution. In Regional
Law No. 17 dated June 7 1976, and titled Urgent measures to meet the
extraordinary and pressing housing needs of the populations affected by the
seismic events of May 1976 in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, provided an initial
framework for the emergency. The Regional Administration was authorised «to
enter into contracts with specialised firms through private negotiation for the
purchase, hire or leasing of mobile dwellings or modular units, including the
necessary infrastructure, to be provisionally allocated as accommodation for
homeless families».
The resolve of the local government to launch
reconstruction efforts without delay led to the enactment of Regional Law No.
33 dated July 21 1976, titled Rules for the identification of areas to be
allocated to urgent building interventions in the Municipalities affected by
the earthquake of May 1976. Rules on expropriation for public utility were
issued to authorise mayors to identify land that could be made available by
owners, ideally through voluntary agreements rather than forced acquisition, to
transform the initial tent camps into urbanised areas equipped for the
installation of Temporary Housing Settlements (Insediamenti Abitativi
Provvisori - IAP).
To carry out the initial preparation of the area
and then undertake the primary urbanisation works, a joint-stock company was
established and commissioned directly over the summer. This company consisted
of 80 Friulian and Venetian construction firms: The Friuli Reconstruction
Consortium (Consorzio Ricostruzione Friuli - Co.Ri.F.). The opposition parties
strongly contested this approach, claiming that the decision to "do it
alone" was motivated by a desire to exclude certain large companies, including
Italstat and Fiat, which were already operating in the area, including on the
Udine-Tarvisio motorway construction site. Work on this project had come to a
standstill due to the earthquake. The controversies also affected the selection
of the two companies, one from Friuli and one from Trentino, which were
contracted to supply the prefabricated units. An advance payment of 5 billion
lire was made to each company. Further disputes then arose over the decision
not to focus on “monobloc” housing units, which were easier to install.
In
midsummer, the Coordination Committee of the tent camps organised two popular
demonstrations, drawing precisely on the new spirit of participation that had
developed. The first took place in Udine, and the second, on July 16, in
Trieste, the administrative centre and capital of the Region. More than 3,500
earthquake victims joined the demonstrations to denounce the delays and growing
difficulties of their precarious living conditions in the tents, which had even
led to the occupation of the RAI headquarters. On the same day, the trade
unions and left-wing parties held a “counter-demonstration” in Udine to
highlight the delays in regional action. All of this helped to change the
political climate, encouraging a greater sharing of urgent decisions.
Following the shocks of September 15, it became
clear to everyone that the transition from tents to houses, and the
reconstruction that was hoped for, could not be achieved quickly. It was
definitely not possible to begin before winter. Following the tent phase, it
was essential to find a solution in view of the approaching cold season. The
first step was therefore to replace the tents with caravans and prefabricated
units as quickly as possible. Approximately 4,000 caravans were requisitioned
by prefects across the country, from both companies and private individuals.
They were gathered in Campoformido, near Udine, and made available to
earthquake victims as temporary accommodation.
Nevertheless, tens of
thousands of people had no choice but to remain in inadequate housing in a
territory with a harsh climate and steep hills. For many of those who had lost
their jobs and for families with elderly people and children, the exodus of September
had begun.