Norcia loses priceless history in quake

(ANSA) - Rome, November 2 - Art historian Romano Cordella, author of 'Norcia and its territory', told ANSA that Norcia has lost "part of its past" as he detailed the long list of priceless cultural history that was lost in Sunday's 6.5-magnitude earthquake.
    The Basilica of St. Benedict, the St. Mary Cathedral, the churches of St. Francis, St. Rita and St. Agostino were all affected - with St. Benedict completely gone in a total collapse.
    "Only the late Gothic facade is still standing - a symbol of the city and its pride," he said, adding that none of Norcia's churches went unharmed.
    "The bell tower of the Basilica of St. Benedict, one of the wonders of Umbria for its height and its decoration, was raised in 1388 and then the upper part was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1703".
    He said that the Basilica of St. Benedict fell three times in the 1700s and the Celestine monks who lived in the monastery there rebuilt it three times.
    The crypt held the remains of Roman-era Norcia, the "Nursia romana", which Cordella said are among the most substantial still in existence.
    Two-thirds of the church of St. Mary Argentea collapsed, "burying an 18th-century organ with it" Cordella said.
    "We hope that the celebrated wooden crucifix made by Giovanni Tedesco at the end of the 1400s wasn't harmed, as well as two recently restored wooden statues of St. Claudius and St.
    Rocco".
    As for Norcia's future, Cordella said that it will "rise from the ashes like the Phoenix and perhaps find another prosperous era like the one that has now been cut down".
    "But with this earthquake, Norica loses another irreplaceable part of its past, just as it has in another times during its history, for other earthquakes," he said.
    "Norcia has lost a part of its 19th-century imprint that made it so distinct from the Medieval countenances typical of other Umbrian cities".
    At this point, Cordella said, it's essential that Norcia manage to conserve the cultural heritage that remains, including the Castellina Museum, the Criptoportico, the Auditorium, the theatre, the archive, the city library, and the many churches throughout the area.