The letter of the then Prince Charles to the former mayor of Amatrice Pirozzi after the earthquake

“I am extremely grateful to you and the citizens of Amatrice for giving me such a warm welcome on the occasion of my recent visit. It was very important for me to come to Amatrice, especially to make sure you were aware of how deeply British citizens share in suffering. I need not say how deeply touched I was by the affection you received. I was also extremely impressed by the exceptional courage and resilience of everyone I met. To endure such pain and loss, while maintaining such a great determination to rebuild his community, he demonstrates an extraordinary strength of character “. Thus began the letter that the King of England Charles III, then Prince of Wales, sent to Sergio Pirozzi at the time mayor of Amatrice on April 16, 2017, a few days after his visit in the crater of the earthquake that destroyed central Italy six years ago. . “I just hope I can, in some way, do my part to help you with this difficult task. After my visit to Amatrice, I was very encouraged to attend a meeting of the INTBAU (International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism) Italy in Rome, where I met a truly inspiring group of Italian architects led by Milanese Giuseppe Amoruso. They are eager to support you in responding to the challenges of reconstruction after earthquakes – continues the letter – and to help find ways to rebuild in style local as close as possible to the traditional one and, at the same time, guarantee the resilience of the structures themselves. I think they have already started looking at the hamlet of Retrosi, of which you will no doubt be aware. As Founder and Patron of INTBAU, I will certainly do the as possible to encourage their efforts and I will ask that they contact you as soon as possible to see how they can help. ” “During my visit it was a particular pleasure to meet some of the farmers and food producers for whose products your region is so rightly famous. I hope that the unique character and quality of their production – reads in closing – can be a fulcrum. for the reconstruction of the local community and the economy. I can assure you that I will do my best to promote these products in the United Kingdom. To Amatrice my best wishes for the future “. (by Silvia Mancinelli)