A sequence of four large earthquakes devastated central Italy in September 1349, damaging Molise, Latium, Abruzzo, and Rome.
Key Facts
- Start date
- 9 September 1349
- Number of major shocks
- Approximately four moderate-to-large earthquakes
- Primary epicenter region
- North-west Campania, along Aquae Iuliae fault
- Fault system
- Apennine fold and thrust belt fault network
- Affected regions
- Molise, Latium, Abruzzo, and Rome
- Paleoseismic evidence
- Scarping, fault length, collapsed Roman aqueduct at Venafro
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The earthquakes originated from the Apennine fold and thrust belt fault network, with the principal rupture occurring along the Aquae Iuliae fault on the Molise-Campania border. This fault system had accumulated tectonic stress over time, eventually producing multiple large seismic releases in rapid succession.
Beginning on 9 September 1349, a sequence of approximately four moderate-to-large earthquakes struck the central Apennine Mountains of Italy. The most destructive shock had its epicenter in north-west Campania, and the entire sequence severely affected towns and villages across Molise, Latium, and Abruzzo, with damage extending as far as Rome.
Towns and villages across the central Italian Peninsula were devastated. Physical evidence of the destruction survived in the collapsed sections of Venafro's Roman aqueduct, which later provided paleoseismological data helping researchers identify the Aquae Iuliae fault as the source of the main shock.