The debate

In the days immediately following the tremor of May 6 1976, the Italian Prime Minister, Aldo Moro, made a decision that would prove fundamental to the reconstruction: the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia was granted a leading role. Unlike other Italian regions with an ordinary statute, it had been granted special autonomous powers around twelve years earlier. This meant that, even before the earthquake emergency, it had already developed a functioning administrative framework.

Discussion also began at once on which direction to take, with politicians convinced from the very outset that the aim should be ‘as it was, where it was’, while town planners and architects believed that the reconstruction offered an opportunity to try to imagine different solutions capable of going along with, if not anticipating, the trends of economic and social modernisation.

In reality, the debate over which philosophy to follow remained a purely theoretical discussion. Both the tent-city population and the political class immediately decided that the towns had to be rebuilt exactly where they had stood before the tremors and that demolished houses, wherever possible, had to be rebuilt as they had been before. While new materials and anti-seismic techniques were accepted, every effort was made to save whatever could be saved. Only one new town was built: Nuova Portis, in the Municipality of Venzone, as the original village site was at risk of landslides.

The second event that marked the beginning of the reconstruction process did not take place in Rome, but at the seat of the Regional Government in Trieste. Informal agreements were reached between the Christian Democrats (Democrazia Cristiana – DC), the dominant political force in Friuli Venezia Giulia at that time, and the opposition forces, primarily the Italian Communist Party (PCI). All the political and cultural groups across the territory agreed to put aside their differences and work together to achieve the rebirth of Friuli. This ‘seismic compromise’ engaged everyone in the task of regenerating the earthquake-stricken areas. Regional offices, local administrations, and mayors were the driving force behind this endeavour.