Then in 2018 Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, the leader of a far-right and populist government, passed a tailor-made measure for Ischia – slipping into law to allegedly speed up the rebuilding of a major bridge that had collapsed in Genoa.
The policy appeared to be a political win-win, popular with voters but also raking in some extra cash for Italy’s coffers. But it has led Mr Conte and his increasingly left-wing and southern-based Five Star Movement to defend themselves with legalistic declarations.
“Political analysis should not revolve around the word ‘amnesty’ in this decree,” Barbara Floridia, a five-star senator, told House last week. “It doesn’t mean there was an amnesty. I am against the mafia, and this sentence contains the word “mafia”. Does that mean I’m pro-mafia?”
Ms Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party voted in favor of Mr Conte’s amnesty measure when she was in opposition. She has sought to avoid the amnesty issue, focusing on climate change and hydrogeological risks and earmarking €2 million ($2.1 million) in aid to the island.
Liberal opponents of Ms Meloni, who are also suspicious of Mr Conte’s rising popularity on the left, have seized on the issue to hurt them both.
“We must take an example from this event and never allow amnesties again,” said Enrico Letta, the secretary of the Democratic Party, which voted against the measure in 2018, last week. “Unfortunately, illegal building practices have played a role on Ischia.”
Bruno Molinaro, an Ischia attorney and construction amnesty expert, argued that most requests in the city were for minor changes and that it often takes homeowners decades to get a response.
Some have been pending for 37 years, he said. Municipalities tend to avoid an audit because as soon as they determine that a building is not compliant, they have to demolish it. That’s expensive for the city, and owners rarely repay demolition costs.
The destruction of so many houses, he added, would lead to a rebellion, in Ischia as elsewhere in the country.
“Everyone on Ischia and in Italy,” said Mr. Molinaro, “is trying to create a place in the sun for themselves and their families.”
But locals say the bureaucratic delays were compounded by fatal negligence on Mount Epomeo, which looms over the city.
The terraced and drainage systems of mountain forests were designed to channel rain safely from the mountain to the sea. But they weren’t cared for. Local hunters said the slopes were littered with branches, leaves, rocks and even household implements. In the last 10 years alone, millions of euros have been made available for maintenance. However, a lack of political will, administrative staff and expertise prevented the funds from being used.
“I remember workers routinely cleaning up the canal under the street here when I was a boy,” said Antonio Senese, 47, who runs the family’s car rental and hearse business, which brought nearly $400,000 worth of vehicles to the disaster lost.
“Farmers and authorities are cleaning up the mountains,” he said. “None of that exists anymore.”
On the night of the landslide, mud pounded Via Celario and Via Santa Barbara, the most damaged residential streets, washing away about 10 homes. Four children slept in it. The youngest, a 22-day-old baby, was found dead in his dead mother’s arms. Three other children were found dead next to their beds.
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