Los Angeles City Hall is being lighted in Italy’s national colors of green, white and red every night this week in memory of the victims of the earthquake in Central Italy.

Los Angeles Councilman Joe Buscaino, Italian Consul General Antonio Verde and Monsignor Antonio Cacciapuoti led a candlelight vigil at City Hall in memory of the more than 290 people people killed during Wednesday’s magnitude- 6.2 earthquake.

“The thoughts and prayers of everyone in Los Angeles are with the Italian people,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti, whose paternal great-grandfather was born in Italy and emigrated to Mexico.

“We have a strong and historic bond with them, and are all too familiar with the enormously difficult aftermath of a major earthquake. Lighting City Hall in the colors of their nation’s flag is a symbol of our commitment to stand with them in a time of sorrow, loss, and recovery.”

City Hall will continue to be lit in green, white and red through Friday, Garcetti said.

More than 95,000 Los Angeles residents are of Italian descent, according to Buscaino, whose district includes San Pedro, one of the city’s largest Italian enclaves.

“Last week’s tragedy strikes at everyone’s hearts whether we are living in Los Angeles, London, or Rome,” Buscaino said.

“The heart-breaking images of children being pulled from the rubble reminds us that even nations with sophisticated disaster preparedness and world- class building codes need to realize that much more work remains to be done to ensure that every man, woman and child is safe when disaster strikes.”

Donations for relief efforts can be made online to the Italian Red Cross at http://ow.ly/nBMZ303HRYn. Donations can also be made to Save the Children and the Italian American Relief Fund.

—City News Service

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