"We are not against the G-8, but we want people to know, to be informed about this," Lolli said. "Our houses look exactly the same as the day after the earthquake. The only works done in record time were for the G-8. . . . Our problems are much bigger."
Tomassino says the G-8 actually brought more headaches for residents, with the beefed-up security and increased traffic that have clogged the town over the last month.
Dozens of women chanted their anger Thursday as First Lady Michelle Obama, French First Lady Carla Bruni and other leaders' spouses toured quake-hit areas. Actor George Clooney, who owns a house on Italy's Lake Como, also showed up for a look-see.
"Michelle, Carla, come into the tents! The women from Abruzzo are waiting in underpants!" demonstrators shouted, emphasizing their sense of deprivation. L'Aquila is the capital of the Abruzzo region.
President Obama was given a tour of the town by Berlusconi on Wednesday.
The Italian news agency Ansa reported that Germany has pledged to rebuild a church destroyed in the hard-hit village of Onna, and Canada is to fund construction of a student center in L'Aquila.
None of that means much to Costin Marius Ionut, 27, who has been living in a tent with four other men since April.
Temperatures soar to sauna-like heights inside the tarp-like enclosure in the summer heat. The displaced are not allowed to cook for themselves, because of the fire hazard; all must take government-provided meals in a mess hall. The only toilets are communal ones, and water comes from a public tap.
Tempers have frayed and fights have broken out among camp residents.
"It's chaos for everybody. . . . We need another earthquake to knock this down," he said, gesturing at the tent.
Saying he's outraged that the government seems to think promises are enough, Marco Sebastiani, 27, wears his protest on his chest. Playing on a common description of the people of L'Aquila as "strong and nice," his yellow T-shirt reads: "Strong and nice, yes. Stupid, no."
"I'll keep wearing it until L'Aquila is rebuilt," Sebastiani said of the shirt.
But he's no optimist. He owns four of them.
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henry.chu@latimes.com
Times staff writer Maria de Cristofaro in Rome contributed to this report.
