A large earthquake hit the medieval city of L'Aquila east of Rome Monday killing at least 27 people and destroying homes, churches and other buildings.
Many people were trapped in the rubble and the toll was expected to rise.
The epicentre of the 5.8 magnitude quake was near the 13th-century city of 68,000 people 100km (60 miles)east of Rome, capital of the mountainous Abruzzo region.
It was the worst quake in size since 1997 when ten people were killed and massive damage done at and around Assisi.
The toll was the worst since 2002 when 20 died in a school near Naples.
Premier Silvio Berlusconi cancelled a trip to Moscow and rushed to the scene of the disaster.
President Giorgio Napolitano called it a ''tragedy''.
