As we strolled along the main shopping street in Norcia, Corso Sertorio, the effects of the devastating Oct. 30 earthquake, the strongest to hit Italy since 1980, were not immediately apparent. Most of the shops, though shut, seemed intact. Christmas lights were strung overhead.

The scenery changed dramatically when our guide, Benedict Nivakoff, 37, a Benedictine monk from Connecticut who is known in the local monastic community as Fr. Prior, led us to Piazza San Benedetto, the main square. There, its dominant feature, the 14th Century Basilica of St. Benedict, the spiritual home of the Benedictines, lay in ruins. The bell tower had collapsed onto the roof, reducing the basilica to rubble. Only the basilica's façade was standing.

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Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/