Giorgia Meloni calls Central Italy earthquake zone Europe's largest construction site

Presentation at the Rimini Meeting

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni contributed a preface titled "Segni di speranza" to the volume "Le pietre della rinascita", presented on 23 August 2026 at the Rimini Meeting. The publication documents the restoration of artistic and architectural heritage damaged across the Central Apennines. In her text, Meloni stated that her administration worked with determination to accelerate post-earthquake reconstruction following years of administrative postponements and false starts. Meloni pointed to a tangible change in pace reflected in the number of financial contributions granted for private rebuilding projects and the resumption of public reconstruction contracts that had remained blocked for long periods.

Since taking office, the government has worked, with determination and obstinacy, to impart, after too many delays and false starts, a decisive acceleration in post-earthquake reconstruction.

Scale of the Central Italy seismic crater

The rebuilding zone encompasses the territory hit by the seismic sequence that began ten years earlier. On 24 August 2016 at 03:36, an earthquake struck Central Italy, beginning a seismic sequence that spread destructive effects across the subsequent months. The disaster affected an area of 8,000 square kilometres across four administrative regions and 138 municipalities. Meloni described the current seismic zone as the largest construction site in Europe, where active works span private homes, public administration facilities, churches, manufacturing plants, and town centres.

Restoration of cultural and religious heritage

The volume presented at the Rimini Meeting focuses specifically on the physical restoration of cultural and religious buildings that Meloni described as defining symbols of Italian and European civilization. Restoration projects across the region have repaired, restored, and repositioned millenary stones back into their original locations across ruined towns and villages. Meloni noted that rebuilding these physical structures provides the foundation for communal life to resume and local identity to revive. The government strategy combines the preservation of cultural roots and heritage with contemporary capital investments in mountain communities.

Today the seismic crater is the largest construction site in Europe, and in this construction site we are not only rebuilding homes, public buildings, churches, and factories. The life of an entire community is also being rebuilt.

Economic and social objectives for the Apennines

Meloni acknowledged that the overall reconstruction effort remains incomplete despite recent progress across both public and private sectors. The national government intends to continue rebuilding operations to meet the expectations of citizens who were born in the area and wish to live there permanently. Meloni stated that choosing to stay in or return to the Apennine villages represents an active commitment and an act of care rather than an expression of nostalgia or immobility. National and regional authorities are pursuing coordinated teamwork with the stated goal of achieving the complete economic and social revival of the Central Apennines.

The path of reconstruction is not finished. Much has been done, but just as much remains to be done. And we intend to do it.