Lo spettacolo della catastrofe : il disastro della città e la comunicazione del potere

The essay aims to analyze the media frames of the Italian press in the coverage of the earthquake that destroyed L'Aquila on April 6, 2009. The first frame is that of the political spectacle, where Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is depicted in his one-man show within what can be considered as a 'pop politics' media coverage. The second frame is that of the blaming ritual process, where the media look for the political and social scapegoat for the disaster. What happens to be a 'political autopsy' of the city turns into a media scandal and a Conspiracy plot. Finally, the earthquake has been framed within the architectural and urban dimensions, where L'Aquila turns into a 'ghost town', the architectural and urban uncanny of Italian society.