Earthquakes in Italy: which ones were the strongest in our country? Due to its position along the margin between two colliding tectonic plates, the Eurasian plate and the African plate, Italy is a highly seismic country. This is why Italy is subject to frequent, destructive earthquakes, and Europe’s most earthquake-prone country. Out of 1,300 destructive earthquakes occurring in the central Mediterranean in the second millennium, as many as 500 affected Italy. In Italy, the strongest earthquake was probably the one that occurred in Sicily in January 1693.
With a magnitude of 7.4, it is considered the strongest earthquake ever to strike the peninsula. Whole towns and villages disappeared with tsunamis on the coasts. Catania counted 16,000 victims out of a population of 20,000. In the area affected by the earthquake, about 5,600 square kilometres, 45 towns were destroyed with a total of 60,000 victims. Below is the ranking of the top 10 strongest earthquakes in Italy:
- Messina, Sicily—magnitude 7.50—28/12/1908.
- Central-southern Apennines, Campania—magnitude 7.30—05/12/1456.
- Basilicata—magnitude 7.10—16/12/1857.
- Southern Calabria—magnitude 7.10—05/02/1783.
- Central Calabria—magnitude 7.10—27/03/1638.
- Sannio in Calabria—magnitude 7.10—05/06/1688.
- Central Calabria—magnitude 7.00—28/03/1783.
- Central Calabria—magnitude 6.95—08/09/1905.
- Norcino, Reatino and Aquilano—magnitude 6.92—14/01/1703.
Although earthquakes occur very frequently in Italy, the ones that hit Italy are not ranked in the world’s top 10 strongest earthquakes. The massive destruction caused by earthquakes in Italy, in addition to the magnitude, is due to the high vulnerability of our building heritage to earthquakes. This is why a seismic prevention program that minimizes damage caused by seismic events is crucial.
