THE Archbishop of Glasgow has told hundreds gathered at a special mass to remember the victims of the earthquake in central Italy that the tragedy had broken Scottish hearts.
Archibishop Tartaglia highlighted the close links between Scotland and Italy saying Scots were in tears over the tragic events in central Italy where at least 290 people were killed and hundreds more injured after a 6.2-magnitude quake struck in the early hours of Wednesday.
Leading the service at St Andrew's Cathedral attended by more than 500 the Archbishop pointed to the waves of Italian immigrants who have arrived in Scotland since the last 19th century and whose descendants are now dotted across Scotland.
Archbishop Tartaglia (left) and Archbishop Emeritus Mario Conti greet Carlo Perrotta
"There is a well-established Italian community here in Scotland which has been here for 100 years and more, and which is now in its 3rd and 4th generations. They came here from towns and villages in Lazio and Tuscany and other regions of Italy much like the communities which were stricken by this latest earthquake," said Archbishop Tartagilia, who was joined at the mass by the Italian consul general for Scotland and Northern Ireland, Carlo Perrotta, and Archbishop Mario Conti.
“For us Scotland is the land of our birth and our home, while Italy remains deep in our hearts too as part of our identity and culture, and it breaks these hearts and brings us to tears when we see the Italian people suffering."
He revealed that one of his former alter servers, known as Brother Aidan, a Scottish Benedictine monk based in Norcia, one of the worst-affected areas by the earthquake had contacted him to say that while buildings had been severely damaged there was no loss of life.
“Amidst all the death and destruction, it was good to receive a message of hope from one of our own, also caught up in the horror of the earthquake,” Archbishop Tartaglia said.
A special collection was sent around to help those affected by the disaster.
The Glasgow service followed a similar event in Edinburgh on Sunday.
Meanwhile Italian authorities have vowed to investigate whether negligence or fraud in adhering to building codes played a role in the high death toll following last week's earthquake.
They also called for efforts to ensure organised crime does not infiltrate lucrative construction contracts to eventually rebuild much of the picturesque towns levelled in the disaster.
Rescue workers continued to pressed on with the task of recovering bodies from the rubble, with hopes of finding any more survivors dwindling four days after the tremor.
Over the past two days, six more bodies were found in the rubble of Hotel Roma in Amatrice, the medieval hill town which bore the brunt of destruction and loss of life in the 6.2-magnitude quake.
Meanwhile Philip Contini, director of Edinburgh’s long-established Italian Food and Wine Emporium, has appealed to all Italian restaurants in the capital to join them in support of the spaghetti all’amatriciana appeal for the recent Italian earthquake disaster, led by Slow Food Scotland.
Launched by food blogger Paolo Campana and spearheaded by Carlo Petrini, head of Slow Food, the worldwide appeal is asking all Italian restaurants to make donations for every plate served of the classic Italian pasta dish, named after the town Amatrice, one of the worst hit by Wednesday’s devastating earthquake.
Amatrice was this weekend set to hold its 50th annual food festival celebrating its famous spaghetti all’amatriciana, a pasta dish with a tomato-based sauce flavoured with guanciale, or cured pork cheek.
More than 600 restaurants in Italy have already agreed to donate two euros for every amatriciana serving and now the appeal is gathering momentum across the world.
Philip Contini, chief executive of Valvona & Crolla said: “We want to do all we can to help the poor people of Amatrice, whose lives have been devastated by this week’s earthquake."
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