VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI will tour towns damaged by Italy's earthquake and visit a tent city of survivors in an effort to restore hope and solidarity for the area's reconstruction, the Vatican said Saturday.

The three-hour visit Tuesday will include time at the tent city on the outskirts of Onna, a hamlet that was completely leveled by the powerful April 6 earthquake.

The quake claimed 295 lives, drove some 50,000 people from their homes, and toppled or heavily damaged thousands of buildings, including churches, schools and other public buildings in the Abruzzo region in the central Apennine Mountains.

In Onna, on the outskirts of L'Aquila, about 40 of the 300 residents died.

Benedict also will go to the site of a collapsed university dormitory in L'Aquila, where seven students were killed, and to the Basilica of Collemaggio, the town's best known church that suffered heavy damage.

The 82-year-old pope will visit a military barracks on L'Aquila's outskirts, which has been hosting offices aiding the victims.

Traveling by helicopter, Benedict will have an aerial view of the devastation caused by the 6.3-magnitude temblor, the Vatican said.