On April 6, 2009 at 3:32 am, the city of L’Aquila in central Italy was struck by a devastating earthquake which killed 308 people and left 80,000 others homeless. In a matter of hours, the city was left paralyzed, and the lives of local residents would never be the same again. With the red zone entirely blocked off, L’Aquila was quickly transformed into a ghost city. Though today, in 2014, it is mostly accessible, the city still lies in ruins. Houses, streets, and buildings portray a city suspended in time--clothes, personal items, spaces, all traces of an everyday life which has vanished. Five years gone, everything still appears unaltered, aside from some deterioration and looting; a depiction of life which once existed, but which has remained frozen in time since April 6, 2009.
