Italy unites for earthquake victims

Good Friday is usually the only day on which Mass is not celebrated in the Catholic Church, but yesterday 10,000 mourners pay respects to the 289 who died in tremor.

Thousands of grieving mourners gathered yesterday to pay their respects to the 289 victims of this week's earthquake in central Italy. Good Friday is usually the only day of the year on which Mass is not celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church, but yesterday the Vatican granted special dispensation for the funeral to go ahead.

The ceremony in L'Aquila, the epicentre of the quake, was held outdoors as none of the region's churches were yet stable enough to accommodate the mourners. It began with a message from Pope Benedict XVI. "In this tragic hour ? I feel spiritually close to you and share your anguish," he said from the Vatican, wishing "rapid healing" for the wounded and "strength to continue" for the survivors. More than 200 flower-draped coffins were lined up in four rows on red carpets in the courtyard of the police academy just outside L'Aquila.

Many were simply varnished wooden caskets adorned with a crucifix and five had smaller white caskets laid on top; children, who were to be buried with their mothers. Mementos were also on display - a boy's toy motorcycle and a baby's powder blue T-shirt with a Tweetie bird design, poignant details of the lives lost. Even as grieving relatives and survivors gathered, two more bodies were pulled from the rubble.

The crowds stood with their heads hung in silence as Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's No 2, led the Mass. Across the country, flags flew at half mast and many shops were closed as the 10,000 mourners witnessed the two-hour-long sombre ceremony. The Italian premier, Silvio Berlusconi, said the victims, 20 of whom were children and teenagers, were "the dead of the whole nation". Near the end of the ceremony, a Muslim imam, Mohamed Nour Dachan, offered prayers on behalf of Italy's Islamic community. Six of the victims of the earthquake were Muslims.

L'Aquila's Archbishop Giuseppe Molinari said he had no "learned words to explain" what had happened. But as Italy united in mourning, many of the tens of thousands of people made homeless were asking how so many buildings, not just the century-old churches but also modern apartment blocks, could fall to pieces in an area known for its high seismic risk. Diterlizi, 25, one of the mourners, said: "The houses should not have been built like that.

"Onna has been razed to the ground; there is nothing left, only rocks and stones." An estimated 40,000 people were made homeless by the quake, many of whom are now living in tents. President Giorgio Napolitano toured the disaster zone on Thursday and said there was "widespread irresponsibility" for the collapse of the newer buildings - citing poor-quality construction. The Italian government has pledged to suspend taxes in the region and promised state aid for farmers and retailers whose businesses have been ruined.

[e-mail] * With agencies