The power of the podcast on Rigopiano
Explain, put in order the facts, actions and omissions. Follow the time of the story, try to unravel the logical and chronological thread of events; mention names and describe circumstances, even the most uncomfortable ones, the most absurd, inconceivable but damned real ones. Do it, and deeply shake the emotions of those who, at a certain point, realize that they have not just listened to a story, but that they have actually heard it, felt it with their senses, perceived it almost physically, with all the weight of words that meet sounds and they become silences. This is the result he achieves And then the silence – The Rigopiano disaster, the new original podcast from Sky Italia and Sky TG24 available on the skytg24.it website and on all the main streaming platforms. A prodigious work for the way and sensitivity with which Pablo Trincia and Debora Campanella, together with the creative producer Audrey Gouband and the music and sound design of Michele Boreggi, retracing moments, infinite days and almost imperceptible instants, impress the soul. And maybe even some conscience.
What is ‘And then the silence – The Rigopiano disaster’ about?
At the center of the podcast is the tragedy of the Rigopiano hotel in Farindola, Abruzzo, which at 4.49pm on 18 January 2017 was overwhelmed and razed to the ground by an avalanche which killed 29 of the 40 people who were inside, trapped for hours, between snow and debris. In the eight episodes there is a meticulous commitment to research and investigation dedicated to an event that has claimed the most victims in the history of our Apennines and is among the most disastrous in Europe. There are lives saved by chance or destiny, coincidences and fatalities, moments that have subverted fate and hours that have condemned to death. And questions, how many questions there are. Questions that remain despite everything, despite more than seven years having passed: was Rigopiano a tragic accident, or were those people not supposed to be there? Why didn’t anyone clear the snow from their only escape route? How much have bureaucracy, bad administration and political times contributed to this catastrophe?
The podcast on Rigopiano can be listened to with all five senses
Listening minute after minute, episode after episode, to the Rigopiano podcast is an immersive experience that cannot leave you indifferent. The story starts from the tragic hours of the accident and little by little, giving space to the voices of the survivors and relatives of the victims, pushes the swing of emotions which now reaches the peak of anguish, now that of relief, now that of anger. Anger that builds when the audio of the phone calls is played, dismissed with a terrifying superficiality (“It’s collapsed, there’s nothing left, everything has collapsed”, the cry of Giampiero Parete, the first to call for help at 5.08pm without be believed immediately; “The mother of imbeciles is always pregnant. There is no collapse in Rigopiano, everyone is fine”, the response of the official who does not believe the alarm raised by Quintino Marcella, Parete’s employer, contacted in desperation). Anger rises when Pasquale Iannetti, mountain guide and member of the regional commission which in 1992 had created the regional law known as the ‘Avalanche Charter’, explains that that law, if applied at the time, would never have allowed the construction of the Rigopiano hotel in that exact point.
In the story Pablo Trincia retraces the facts with a montage of re-enactments and testimonies perfect for making even the most difficult technicalities understood. He speaks and the listener sees, focuses on papers on the desks, operators on the telephone. He senses the confusion, the anguish of those who resist and those who are afraid, the “world above” becoming “the world below”. The freezing wind, the walls of snow and that unbearable white, the smell of gas perceived by the survivors stuck under tons of rubble, the thirst: all five senses find themselves involved and shocked by a story that, retraced with this attention, is still more like a punch in the belly of an entire country.
The podcast is also enriched by unpublished testimonies and audio shared by the families affected by the tragedy. The same ones who will soon face another painful stage in the long procedural process: on November 27th the Court of Cassation will decide whether to put an end to the trial or whether to reopen a judicial process that was closed in second instance, in L’Aquila , with 8 convictions and 22 acquittals. At the end of November, Sky Original broadcast the docuseries dedicated to the Rigopiano disaster, again narrated by Pablo Trincia who after Poison, The finger of God – Voices from Concordia, Where no one looks – The Elisa Claps casehe managed once again to remember not to forget.
Rating: 10