Further efforts were necessary to fill gaps in central Italy's post-quake reconstruction, despite an unprecedented apparatus deployed since the seismic events last year, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Monday.

"My appeal today is for all levels of the administration -- from the central government to regional and local authorities -- to exert their utmost efforts to speed up procedures," he told a press conference at Chigi Palace, his office.

Gentiloni acknowledged it was necessary to fix "delays and bottlenecks" that have occurred in the reconstruction process so far.

"We have put up an exceptional system made of public resources and public tools, yet not everything is proceeding at the necessary speed," Gentiloni said.

Flanked by reconstruction commissioner, civil protection chief, and regional governors, Gentiloni provided an overall picture of the situation in the regions of Umbria, Lazio, Marche and Abruzzo, which were hit by a series of quakes since last year.

The first, magnitude-6.0 quake on the Richter scale struck central Italy on Aug. 24, 2016, killing some 300 people. Two major quakes followed in the same areas on Oct. 26 and Oct. 30, destroying thousands of buildings and much of the historical heritage, and leaving tens of thousands displaced.

The last event occurred on Jan. 18, 2017, with four temblors -- all carrying a magnitude above 5 -- taking place in some four hours.

Overall, some 140 municipalities were hit by the quakes, and over 32,000 people needed to be assisted at the height of the emergency, Gentiloni explained.

The PM added firefighters carried out over 200,000 inspections to assess damages, which were more than double compared to those required after the 2009 major quake in the city of L'Aquila.

Furthermore, some 220 schools in 122 towns, and at least 13,000 students, were affected, according to data provided in November by the education minister at the time.

"We had to face a string of quakes of unprecedented measure, and the (emergency) apparatus we have put up has been unprecedented too," Gentiloni told reporters.

Resources for reconstruction would include at least 7.2 billion euros (8.5 billion U.S. dollars) from Italy's central government so far, and 1.5 billion euros from the European Union (EU). Plus, some 1.36 billion euros were allocated to revamp business activities in the affected local communities, according to reconstruction commissioner Vasco Errani.

"For the first time ever (in Italy), the government granted a 100 percent reimburse to rebuild both first homes and second houses to avoid depopulation, because second houses in such areas are a key element to keep the local identity alive," Errani explained.

Residents, entrepreneurs, and farmers from the quake-hit regions have staged protests in the past months for what they have denounced as significant delays and bureaucratic hurdles in the reconstruction.

The series of quakes have cost Italy some 23 billion euros overall, the national Civil Protection Agency estimated in February. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars)