10 times what the U.S. government sent

Not-so-Material Girl Madonna pledged $500,000 for victims of Italy’s terrible earthquake on Wednesday – 10 times what the U.S. government sent, the New York Daily News writes today.

The mayor of Pacentro, the Abruzzi mountain village where Madonna Ciccone’s paternal grandparents were born, reached out to the pop star, who is practically a holy icon in town, and begged for help.

Fernando Caparso, mayor of the medieval village of 1,300 souls about 60 miles from the epicenter of Monday’s quake, said the singer quickly called with her generous offer.

“I am happy to lend a helping hand to the town that my ancestors are from,” Madonna told People magazine.
Caparso called it “a beautiful thing” and a big help for the people of the devastated regional capital L’Aquila.

On Monday, the State Department announced it was sending $50,000 in emergency relief funds.
President Obama has told Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that the U.S. stands ready if called on for help.
Dozens of Italian-American communities are also gathering donations.

In L’Aquila, the death toll climbed to 272, 16 of them children. About 100 people remained critically injured, 30 were missing and 28,000 were left homeless.