"We thank the people of Abruzzo for their seriousness, civility, dignity and composure," said Berlusconi. "Today we pay homage to their dead, who are our dead."

"Beneath the rubble can be felt the wish to start over, rebuild and dream once more," said Cardinal Bertone, voicing the hope of "rebirth" which Christians celebrate on Easter Sunday.

But some survivors did not find much comfort in religion.

"Now the professionals of prayer are praying, saying mass. Everybody prays: popes, archpopes, bishops, archbishops, excellencies, eminences, Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and yet Jesus Christ sends us an earthquake," said Francesco Pagani, an aged survivor sitting in one of the emergency camps.

Attention is now starting to turn to the reconstruction of a region that relies on tourism, farming and family firms. More than half the companies in Abruzzo have been put out of action.

One estimate put the damage at up to 3 billion euros ($4 billion), but its impact on Italy's nearly 2-trillion-euro economy, already mired in recession, is expected to be limited.

The government has announced an enquiry into the tragedy after President Giorgio Napolitano said shoddy construction may be behind the collapse of modern buildings, including a hospital and student hostel, that should have been earthquake-proof.

"People need to search their consciences," he said.