L'AQUILA, Italy -- Italy held a state funeral Friday for victims of its worst earthquake in three decades, as the death toll climbed to 289 and survivors voiced anger that houses simply collapsed.

A woman and her son leave a rose during the state funeral ceremony following the earthquake in Aquila April 10, 2009. [Agencies]

Thousands of mourners gathered before 205 coffins, many of them covered by flowers and photos of the dead, laid out in rows on the parade ground of a police academy in the mountain city of L'Aquila, the worst hit by Monday's 6.3 magnitude quake.

Small white caskets with the bodies of children lay on their parents' coffins, some with a favorite toy placed on top. The youngest was a five-month-old boy, killed with his mother.

"There is a lot of sadness today, but also a lot of anger," said Piero Faro, who came to pay his respects to family friend Paola Pugliesi, 65, who died with her son Giuseppe, 45. "Their building simply disintegrated. This should not have happened."

Some mourners kissed the coffins and were comforted by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi before a Catholic mass led by the second highest priest in the Vatican, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

"I feel spiritually present in your midst and share your anguish," said a message read out from Pope Benedict.

Flags flew at half mast on a national day of mourning, shops lowered shutters, airports stopped take-offs for a minute's silence and traffic wardens removed their bright jackets.

"I feel bitter inside for the people crying for 300 dead so we have closed the shop for them, for what it's worth," said Rome shopkeeper Augusto Costa.

Starting over

Five days after the earthquake, rescuers were still sifting through the rubble. A 53-year-old woman and her teenage daughter were found dead in the wreckage of their home overnight.

But the Civil Protection agency said the search was almost over. Firefighters accompanied some people into their homes to retrieve personal items as police guarded against looters.