Divers recover Concordia's Madonna intact
Source: Agencies |
January 22, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SHE was found inside the ship's chapel, submerged up to her shoulders, but in one piece. Fire department divers wrapped her in a white towel, and used a nylon belt to hold it in place so she would not be damaged as they pulled her out.
Yesterday, the plaster statue of the Madonna from the doomed Costa Concordia cruise liner was in a tent on the port of Giglio.
Found early on Friday morning, it was only shown to reporters yesterday. Orange and black equipment bags were piled next to it, and helmets and diving gear hung behind.
The man in charge of the team which rescued the statue said he had taken the time to recover the relic when there were still 21 people missing because "it seemed like the right thing to do."
"When we entered the crumbled churches around L'Aquila after the earthquake, we always recovered the sacred objects," Fabio said, asking that his last name not be used.
Fabio, like many firefighters called to search the Concordia, which ran aground a week ago off the Tuscan coast, had worked in L'Aquila and the towns surrounding it after an earthquake killed more than 300 in 2009.
Symbols are important to a community, he said.
The Madonna is about a meter tall, wears a golden crown, and a white robe with a light blue border. A small baby Jesus lying on a pillow was also salvaged, and is sitting on a stool next to the figure of St Mary.
"We also recovered the tabernacle with the host, and the crucifix," Fabio said. "We gave it to Giglio's parish priest."
The parish priest, Don Lorenzo Pasquotti, opened the doors of his church on the tiny island off the coast to more than 400 survivors when the ship was abandoned, and has put some objects they left on a small table near the altar - a life jacket, a hard hat and survival rations.
Divers yesterday found a woman's body in a narrow corridor of a submerged section of the capsized Costa Concordia, raising to at least 12 the member of dead in the cruise liner accident.
Salvage teams are ready to begin extracting the almost 2,400 tons of heavy oil and diesel fuel, which if spilled would spell disaster for the island's economy.
Yesterday, the plaster statue of the Madonna from the doomed Costa Concordia cruise liner was in a tent on the port of Giglio.
Found early on Friday morning, it was only shown to reporters yesterday. Orange and black equipment bags were piled next to it, and helmets and diving gear hung behind.
The man in charge of the team which rescued the statue said he had taken the time to recover the relic when there were still 21 people missing because "it seemed like the right thing to do."
"When we entered the crumbled churches around L'Aquila after the earthquake, we always recovered the sacred objects," Fabio said, asking that his last name not be used.
Fabio, like many firefighters called to search the Concordia, which ran aground a week ago off the Tuscan coast, had worked in L'Aquila and the towns surrounding it after an earthquake killed more than 300 in 2009.
Symbols are important to a community, he said.
The Madonna is about a meter tall, wears a golden crown, and a white robe with a light blue border. A small baby Jesus lying on a pillow was also salvaged, and is sitting on a stool next to the figure of St Mary.
"We also recovered the tabernacle with the host, and the crucifix," Fabio said. "We gave it to Giglio's parish priest."
The parish priest, Don Lorenzo Pasquotti, opened the doors of his church on the tiny island off the coast to more than 400 survivors when the ship was abandoned, and has put some objects they left on a small table near the altar - a life jacket, a hard hat and survival rations.
Divers yesterday found a woman's body in a narrow corridor of a submerged section of the capsized Costa Concordia, raising to at least 12 the member of dead in the cruise liner accident.
Salvage teams are ready to begin extracting the almost 2,400 tons of heavy oil and diesel fuel, which if spilled would spell disaster for the island's economy.
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