L'Aquila holds torchlight procession to mark 15 years since earthquake.

Italy marks the 15th anniversary of the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the city of L'Aquila in the early hours of 6 April 2009, killing 309 people.

The earthquake left thousands of people homeless and devastated more than 50 villages in the central Abruzzo region, in the deadliest terremoto to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.

On Friday night local residents held the traditional torchlit procession through the streets of L'Aquila and a huge blue beam of light was projected into the sky from the central Piazza Duomo.

This was followed by a midnight Mass in the church of S. Maria del Suffragio in memory of the victims of the earthquake.

At 03.32, church bells rang out 309 times, once for each person that died under the rubble.

Alle ore 3:32, un terremoto di magnitudo 5,9 sulla Scala Richter devasta la provincia dell’Aquila. Il centro del capoluogo abruzzese è ridotto ad un cumulo di macerie. Era il #6aprile 2009. pic.twitter.com/FOIh6QIeEC

— raicultura (@RaiCultura) April 6, 2024

Recovery has been a slow process, with works to reconstruct buildings in L'Aquila still underway 15 years after the city was devastated by the deadly earthquake.

In 2021 Rome's MAXXI Museum of 21st Century Arts opened a new contemporary art museum in L'Aquila, in the refurbished Palazzo Ardinghelli.

MAXXI L'Aquila is marking the 15th anniversary of the earthquake with an installation by local artist Emanuela Giacco, on display until 21 April.

Titled In un battito d’ali (In a flutter of wings), the work features two large butterfly wings which the artist says evokes a spirit of rebirth.

In 2021 former Italian premier Mario Draghi inaugurated a memorial park in L'Aquila, hailing the victims who perished in the earthquake as "309 angels".

There was good news for L'Aquila recently after the city was declared Italian Capital of Culture 2026.

Photo ANSA