Gibellina 1968 - otto minuti dopo le tre

Gibellina, 15th January 1968, 3:08am.A tremendous earthquake hits the the Belìce Valley in western Sicily. Some villages are badly destroyed, Gibellina is completely devastated.

Gibellina, 15th January 1968, 3:08am.

A tremendous earthquake hits the the Belìce Valley in western Sicily. Some villages are badly destroyed and Gibellina, a town with a population of 6.410 inhabitants, is completely devastated. The 'Grande Cretto', made by the renowned artist Alberto Burri, is created to preserve the memory of the town.

Today, a town bearing the same name stands just 20 km away from the ruins, where the spirit of Gibellina lives on through its last remaining inhabitants.

Gibellina 1968 - otto minuti dopo le tre explores the generational disconnect of the new town and through this, the lost memories of old Gibellina. The new generation carries the weight of history upon their shoulders, and the task of retelling the stories of a home they never knew.

© Giuseppe Iannello - Image from the Gibellina 1968 - otto minuti dopo le tre photography project
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14th January, 1:00pm That day was snowing. It was Sunday and Election time. At lunchtime, for about thirty to forty seconds we heard a loud, dull sound, as if hundred Sicilian carts, at full speed, crossed a pebbles road.

© Giuseppe Iannello - Image from the Gibellina 1968 - otto minuti dopo le tre photography project
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15th January. Every hour a quake. At 3:08am the big quake happened. The cattle wagon where my relatives and I used as a refuge came off the tracks. It shook the ground and lifted it.

© Giuseppe Iannello - Nobody believed that the town had collapsed.
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Nobody believed that the town had collapsed.

© Giuseppe Iannello - I left with only what I was wearing.
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I left with only what I was wearing.

© Giuseppe Iannello - Image from the Gibellina 1968 - otto minuti dopo le tre photography project
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In May we left Gibellina. My dad wanted to join his brother who lived in Sydney. So we travelled by train from Palermo to Messina. It was there that we took the cruise ship Angelina Lauro to Australia. We travelled as emigrants whilst most of the passengers were Germans and English tourists. We reached the final destination after one month and stopping at Tenerife, Cape Verde, Cape Town, Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne. After we arrived in Australia, we realized that we were obliged to spend at least two years paying for the cruise ticket via working tax.

© Giuseppe Iannello - In 1971 we went back to Gibellina. Our home was not ready, so we went to live in the huts for 16 years.
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In 1971 we went back to Gibellina. Our home was not ready, so we went to live in the huts for 16 years.

© Giuseppe Iannello - We were shepherds and farmers before the earthquake and we still are.
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We were shepherds and farmers before the earthquake and we still are.

© Giuseppe Iannello - When someone dies we bury the body. Gibellina died so we buried it.
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When someone dies we bury the body. Gibellina died so we buried it.