August 17-18, 1953
ZAKYNTHOS: (From our correspondent on the island Lambros G. Koromilas): «Tears came to my eyes as I walked about the town of Zakynthos, which is now nothing but a giant tomb of rocks and blood, earth and ashes. There can be no scene more savage than that which lies all around me. The ruins of the Fiore di Levante (as the island is known) have been burning for 48 hours, the flames competing with forces deep within the earth’s crust to destroy anything that is still left standing in the town. The sight becomes even more of a nightmare in the dark of night, while the sea surges with every fresh tremor from the depths of the earth (…). The town of Zakynthos will no longer exist except as a memory of what it once was. When a new town is built, it will be no comparison to that about which songs have been written and whose beauty was loved by all. Dashed from its pedestal, the statue of the poet Dionysis Solomos seems to be looking up at the destruction which the poet had predicted when he wrote the words that are engraved on his pedestal. ‘And I cried out to the divine, blood-drenched motherland / praise be to your black rock and dry grass…’ Throughout the entire town only three buildings are still standing: the new Church of Aghios Dionysios, the National Bank and the primary school.
