The evolution of contemporary Italian society in the face of disaster : the example of the Aquila earthquake in 2009 ; L'évolution de la société italienne contemporaine face à la catastrophe : l'exemple du séisme de l'Aquila en 2009

Abstract

Messina 1908, The Aquila 2009, one hundred years have passed between these two earthquakes, an Italy has taken shape. This -so called - geographical expression, has become a Nation. The contours of internal borders have been blurred and the peninsula now seems unified. The History of Italy cannot, however, be divorced from a revengeful Geography, and from its expression, which is, to say the least, upsetting. Earthquakes are being added to a list of risks present on the transalpine territory: landslides, floods and forest fires are among the most important natural hazards. The young republic is not exempt from anthropic or man-made hazards (health, technological, energy, terrorist, related to transport or even land use planning) which sometimes amplify the consequences of natural events when they do not directly and primarily affect the environment. An earthquake, since this is what we will mainly be talking about, could be seen as nothing more than a calamitous geophysical phenomenon. Beyond the impact on people, property and the environment, these phenomena are what we call disasters. Thus, it is important to discern from the outset this key notion: the disaster has a real cathartic and revealing function. It may seem provocative to set under this gnoseological objective events where death and human suffering predominate. However, this is here our aim to study Italian society. The state of crisis into which a society is plunged when it is affected by a catastrophe will be for us more than a prism through which we want to observe it. It will also, and above all, be the revealing element of a reality that is too hidden by the superficial and promotional functioning of modern information channels. ; Messine 1908, L'Aquila 2009, cent années ont passé entre ces deux séismes, une Italie s'est dessinée. Cette -ainsi nommée- expression géographique, est devenue une Nation. Les contours de frontières intérieures ont été effacés et la péninsule semble désormais unifiée. L'Histoire de l'Italie ne saurait pour autant se ...