U.S. first lady tours quake-hit city

L'AQUILA, Italy — Michelle Obama shook her head as she inspected the damage to centuries-old churches and other treasures turned to rubble by an earthquake that claimed more than 300 lives.

Obama and other first spouses on Thursday toured the center of L'Aquila, the quake-devastated Italian city hosting world leaders this week for the G-8 summit.

The U.S. first lady, her hair pulled back in a bun and wearing a yellow and white cardigan and matching skirt, walked along piles of debris though L'Aquila's main square and in front of a destroyed government palace.

She listened intently to explanations by Italian rescue officials and shook the hands of firefighters with helmets and grappling gear who work to clear the wreckage and reinforce damaged buildings to allow reconstruction.

The brief tour passed near L'Aquila's damaged cathedral and the 18th century Chiesa delle Anime Sante, whose cupola has all but collapsed.

The first spouses ended the walk at the prefecture, the local government building that pancaked in the quake leaving only a few Greek-styled columns standing.

The tour of about 50 people included Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Filippa Reinfeldt, wife of Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. It largely retraced the steps of a visit that U.S. President Barack Obama made Wednesday with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

The April 6 earthquake killed 308 people and leveled entire blocks in L'Aquila and the surrounding Abruzzo region, displacing more than 50,000 residents.

The Italian government chose the mountain city to host the three-day G-8 summit to highlight residents' plight, but some survivors fear the move is diverting time and resources from the rebuilding of their shattered homes.

A small group of residents tried to stage a protest on the route of the first spouses' tour but heavy security kept them away.

The protesters carried banners that read "The Last Ladies" — urging the first ladies not to forget them — and "Yes, we camp," a play on Obama's "Yes, we can" campaign slogan that sought to remind leaders that thousands of quake survivors still live in tent camps.

Berlusconi said he hoped the world leaders would help with the reconstruction and adopt some of the monuments toppled by the quake.

The U.S. State Department and the National Italian American Foundation have announced a package of projects aimed at rebuilding L'Aquila's university, whose campus was heavily damaged in the quake. The plan includes scholarships for up to 200 displaced students and quake-resistant modular centers to make up for lost dormitories.

After the tour, the first spouses ate a lunch of pasta and veal cooked with typical recipes of Abruzzo, another tribute to the stricken region.