German Chancellor Angela Merkel Visits Onna
08/07/2009
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Onna,a village a few kilometres away from L’Aquila hard hit by the earthquake on 6 April this year, has ended with a tour of the building site where the new homes are being built.
The Chancellor was eager to visit the village to whose reconstruction Germany has announced it is to contribute.Ms. Merkel was escorted by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and men from the Fire Brigade and the Civil Protection Department.The Chancellor, who was presented with a bouquet by the people of Onna,stopped to ponder the village’s ruins, to enquire about progress in the reconstruction work and to pay tribute to the memorial commemorating the Nazi massacre in 1944, in which 17 civilians lost their lives.
The 65th anniversary of the Nazi massacre in which 17 civilians lost their lives was commemorated on 11 June, and to mark the occasion, the German Government announced its intention of contributing to its reconstruction, including the little Church of San Pietro Apostolo.
After Onna, Angela Merkel and Silvio Berlusconi moved on to the Bazzano building site, where the engineers told the two Government leaders about the plans for rebuilding the village and the anti-seismic platforms on which the new homes are to be built.
