bild

The 13th Century fresco attributed to master Giotto depicting St. Francis and St. Claire, painted on the vault above the altar of Assisi's St. Francis Basilica, bearing a large crack after the first jolt of a major earthquake which struck in central Italy, Friday September 26, 1997. Minutes after this picture was taken, a second and stronger jolt caused a large part of the vault to collapse, killing four people of a group who had gone to survey the damage. Official figures count 10 dead, 30 injured, more than 3,000 homeless and millions of dlrs of estimated damages caused by the earthquake. (AP Photo/Plinio Lepri)