Assisi's Gift To The World

The mood of celebration was muted Sunday in Assisi, Italy, CBS News Correspondent Allen Pizzey reports. The plight of those still homeless from an earthquake over two years ago stands in sharp contrast with the glorious re-opening of Assisi's wrecked basilica.

A mass was said Sunday for a moment many thought would never come: the re-opening of the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi. The massive earthquake that sent the vaulted ceilings crashing down killed four people and reduced the ceiling frescoes, masterworks of the Italian Renaissance, to hundreds of thousands of tiny fragments.

The frescoes are considered to be among the finest of their kind in the world. That they are once again on public display is testament to the dedication of more than 500 of Italy's top restorers who labored against all odds to meet the deadline of re-opening before the dawn of the millennium.

And what thirteenth century builders did leaves them in awe. "I think they were of an extraordinary intelligence," says structural restorer Paolo Rocchi. "They designed in the best way possible, with one small flaw. They did not think of earthquakes. In a non-seismic area this would never have fallen down."

To try to ensure it never falls again, springs have been attached to support arches, which in turn have been reinforced with a combination of carbon-fibre, Kevlar and mahogany.

"All the technologies have been used just to prevent damages for future earthquakes, but we do know that nothing last forever," says Padre Nicola Giandomenica, Basilica priest.

There are hopes that up to eighty percent of the frescoes of the great master Cimabue and the school of his pupil Giotto can be restored. Twentieth century technology can restore, but it can never hope to recreate the delicate beauty of the 13th century artists. So those portions of the frescoes that cannot be replaced will be left as they are, in homage to the destructive powers of nature.

The earthquake also left thousands homeless, many of whom are still living in containers in the shadow of the basilica on which so much time, effort and money has been lavished.

But as one restorer put it, this is a gift not just for Italy; it is for the entire world.