Al Piano Terra

What damage did the earthquake cause on a social and emotional level? What has been done to compensate for this relatively immaterial damage? How did the photographers and illustrators move who showed their closeness to the affected populations as well as pursuing the objective of diffusing information? This publication aims to show a historical research of graphic materials related to the production of photography and illustration to help outline an iconography of the earthquake, focusing on a social and anthropological point of view. To this end, it was essential to analyze three of the largest earthquakes that have devastated the Italian peninsula in the last century on a case-by-case basis, investigating the visual material produced with greater interest. The volume therefore contains the work of photographers and illustrators who have placed themselves “on the ground floor” to represent the disaster from the point of view of the citizens. Thus, three distinct Italian earthquakes are framed in chronological order, starting from the most recent: L’Aquila 2009, Irpinia 1980, Messina 1908–1909.