Members of the Lazio Club of Canada have gathered together Saturday to raise money for those impacted by the deadly earthquake in Italy.
“In light of the events in Amatrice, we thought we would cook some pasta and take in some local community and try and help raise money for those efforts,” event organizer Michael Di Mascio said.
Over a dozen people attended Saturday’s event and the group decided to serve a signature dish of the area, Bucatini all’Amatriciana.
READ MORE: Italy earthquake: Restaurants around the world turn to Amatrice’s famous pasta to aid recovery
“Initially we didn’t know how big scale it was because it sounded like it didn’t reach that many kilometres of a radius. But as of today it’s up 200 plus so it’s really starting to hit home for me,” Di Mascio said.
But Di Mascio isn’t the only person cooking up the delicious meal for the cause. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver posted on Facebook that his 46 restaurants across the United Kingdom will be serving the meal.
“At this point, it’s not what they need right now but 20 days from now and rebuilding that community, that’s going to be the hardest thing,” Di Mascio said.
On Saturday, flags flew at half-mast and thousands gathered for a state funeral in Italy to remember the 281 lives lost during at 6.2 magnitude earthquake.
READ MORE: Grief erupts in Italy as nation honours, buries quake dead, death toll rises to 291
Italian President Sergio Mattarella attended the service and declared Saturday a national day of mourning.
Among the dead is one Canadian.