Tourist rush in Amatrice.

Motorcycles, mobile homes and cars with bike racks clog the makeshift road around the destroyed town center.

The business and service center "Il Corso", a shapeless modular building made of prefabricated parts with a creaky floor covering, is well attended.

In the restaurants of the "Area Food", a wood and glass construction by the Milanese star architect Stefano Boeri, there is hardly a seat available at lunchtime and especially in the evening without a reservation.

Matthias Rüb

Political correspondent for Italy, the Vatican, Albania and Malta based in Rome.

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But the bustle during the summer holidays is not a reliable indicator of the status of the reconstruction of the once picturesque town on the fifth anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Amatrice and the surrounding area.

Anyone who comes to the area at almost a thousand meters above sea level outside of the travel time, for example on a cloudy working day in early summer, experiences a still seriously wounded community, over which oppressive silence lies.

95 percent of the buildings destroyed

On August 24, 2016 at 3:36 a.m., the earth shook in central Italy. 138 cities and municipalities in the regions of Lazio, Marche, Abruzzo and Umbria were affected by the quake with a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale. 303 people died, 299 directly in the rubble of the destroyed houses, four succumbed to their injuries in the following days. In the medieval center of Amatrice, 95 percent of the buildings were completely destroyed or were left as uninhabitable ruins. In the small town alone, which at that time had almost 2,700 inhabitants, formerly famous for its "Spaghetti Amatriciana" with tomato sauce, Guanciale bacon and Pecorino cheese, 237 people lost their lives.

The first quake was followed by further tremors, the most severe on October 30 with a magnitude of 6.5 and on January 18, 2017. The last quake could have contributed to the avalanche that buried a hotel in Rigopiano at the foot of the Gran Sasso massif , another 29 people died.

Amatrice is considered to be the center of what Italian media call "earthquake craters" in the central Italian Apennines.

What has been done in the five years since the quake?

Two and a half million tons of rubble were cleared and carried away.

A good six billion euros were spent - for clearing and security work, for the construction of new road and rail connections, for the accommodation of people who have become homeless in emergency shelters and hotels, and for the construction of temporary structures such as the business center "Il Corso" and the "Area Food".

Old town closed to this day

But the reconstruction has hardly begun. Only seven percent of the damaged houses in the residential areas of Amatrice have been restored. The old town, located on a rocky plateau, is still not allowed to be entered as the "red zone" and consists of a handful of propped up ruins and two scaffolded tower frames. Only a few days before the commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the catastrophe, the first crane was moved to the cordoned-off territory of the former old town. The crane must now serve as a symbol for the overdue, but now certainly accelerated reconstruction.

The usual bureaucratic obstacles are now finally being removed, it is said. The currently incumbent special commissioner of the government in Rome for the reconstruction of the earthquake area - it is the fourth in five years - will enable the start and a breakthrough.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mario Draghi flew by helicopter from the capital, around 140 kilometers away, to Amatrice to take part in the mass to commemorate the victims. Draghi did not give a speech, he left that to the Bishop of Rieti, Domenico Pompili, who in turn implored the reconstruction that was finally beginning. Draghi knows that the heads of government in Rome have already given too many speeches with too many promises for Amatrice and the "Krater". Instead, he quietly laid a wreath at the memorial to the victims of the disaster and met with residents who survived the quake and have been working hard to rebuild their own livelihoods for five years. "I am here today to show that the state is there for you",said Draghi, according to the Prime Minister's Office, at the meeting with the quake victims. Draghi also complained that reconstruction had been so slow so far. “But now the situation is different,” assured Draghi: “The reconstruction work will now proceed faster. I came today to show you that the government is fulfilling its obligation. "

It cannot be ruled out that this will actually happen. And that the private initiatives and donations, which have made a significant contribution to the resumption of economic activity, tourism and cultural life in Amatrice, are underpinned by government support. So that not only day tourists on motorbikes and mobile homes come to the disaster area for a short solidarity trip, but hikers and mountain bikers stay longer, the Italian Alpine Association has exemplary signposted hiking trails and bike paths in the area. On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the disaster there are concerts and cultural events.

65 children have been born since August 24, 2016. Most of them not in Amatrice itself because the city still does not have its own hospital, but there are still additional residents, at least nominally. Just like many former residents are still registered in their hometown, but have lived elsewhere most of the time since the earthquake. Officially, Amatrice still has around 2300 inhabitants today. But when the rain comes in autumn and later the snow, around 600 people remain to “winter” in Amatrice and the surrounding villages. Very few of them are younger than 30 years.