This file is to be used only for a purpose specified by Palgrave Macmillan, such as checking proofs, preparing an index, reviewing, endorsing or planning coursework/other institutional needs. You may store and print the file and share it with others helping you with the specified purpose, but under no circumstances may the file be distributed or otherwise made accessible to any other third parties without the express prior permission of Palgrave Macmillan. Please contact rights@palgrave.com if you have any queries regarding use of the file. September 25, 2015 12:48 MAC/JACKY Page-90 9781137470119_07_cha05 PROOF 5 Geolocating the Past: Online Memories after the L’Aquila Earthquake Manuela Farinosi and Alessandra Micalizzi Remembering L’Aquila from below Since the early ‘90s, the widespread adoption of digital media has had a profound impact on the form, content and ways of distribution of individual and collective memories. The new ICTs and the internet have exponentially increased and facilitated sharing, storing and retriev- ing data, experiences and memories. Social platforms provide space for voices that would not reach the broader public through traditional mainstream media, offering a unique opportunity to understand a cer- tain event from a non-institutional point of view, and in this way, challenging the hegemonic narratives of the past. In this chapter, we focus our attention on ‘Noi, L’Aquila’ (in English, ‘We, L’Aquila’ – http://www.noilaquila.com), a local memory website created in L’Aquila (Italy) some months after the 2009 earthquake, where city dwellers can write and share memories, stories and pho- tographs. In contrast to the excess of mediated depictions of the tragedy and its aftermath produced by the national and international news networks, this project aims to collect the narratives of ordinary peo- ple directly through their voices and thus contributes to preserving the social memory of the city before the disaster. In order to explore the users’ practices and investigate the role of ‘Noi, L’Aquila’ in storing, processing and sharing community memo- ries after a collective tragedy, we collected and analysed all the posts written on the website from the launch of the platform until the end of November 2011 (N=278). Through an integrated approach, based on a quantitative and a qualitative analysis of the narratives, we carried out 90