Earthquake-hit Italian town files complaint over Charlie Hebdo cartoon

An aerial photo shows the damaged buildings in the town of Amatrice, central Italy, after an earthquake on Aug. 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

ROME - The Italian town hardest hit by last month's earthquake has filed a criminal defamation complaint denouncing French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo for a cartoon depicting victims in layers of lasagna.

Amatrice lawyer Mario Cicchetti told The Associated Press he lodged the complaint about the "macabre" cartoons on Monday in Rieti, the provincial capital.

Charlie Hebdo published two cartoons about Amatrice, a hill town where most of the 295 people killed in the Aug. 24 quake lived and which is known for a famous pasta dish.

One showed arms and legs protruding from between layers of lasagna. The other, depicting rubble, was captioned: "It's not Charlie Hebdo that built your homes. It's the Mafia."

Prosecutors will decide whether the defamation complaint has merit.

They're already investigating why so many buildings collapsed.