# List of earthquakes in Italy

This is a list of earthquakes in Italy that had epicentres in Italy, or significantly affected the country. On average every four years an earthquake with a magnitude equal to or greater than 5.5 occurs in Italy.
Due to the particular geodynamic situation (convergence of the Eurasian plate with the African plate) the Italian territory is frequently subject to earthquakes, giving it the record in Europe for these phenomena. Out of 1,300 destructive earthquakes that occurred in the 2nd millennium in the central Mediterranean Sea, 500 affected Italy.
The analysis of the earthquakes indicates that they are mostly distributed along the areas affected by Alpine and Apennine tectonics, where they are caused by movements along faults. The highest seismicity hazard in Italy has been concentrated in the central-southern part of the peninsula, along the Apennine ridge, in Calabria and Sicily and in some northern areas, like Friuli-Venezia Giulia, part of Veneto and western Liguria.

## Geology

Italy lies on the southern extent of the Eurasian plate, which is surrounded by the Aegean Sea plate, the Adriatic plate, and the Anatolian sub-plate. The Apennine Mountains contain numerous faults that run along the entire Italian peninsula and form the majority of the destructive boundary between the Eurasian and the Adriatic plates, thus causing Italy to have high amounts of tectonic activity. In addition, Sicily and Calabria are located near the boundary where the African plate is subducting below the Eurasian plate, which was responsible for forming the stratovolcano known as Mount Etna.

## List of major earthquakes

| Date | Region | Mag. | MMI | Deaths | Injuries | Notes | Ref |
| 2025-03-13 | Campania | 4.2 M$_w$ | VI | | 11 | Severe damage | |
| 2023-09-18 | Tuscany | 5.1 M$_w$ | VI | 1 | 1 | Severe damage | |
| 2023-03-09 | Umbria | 4.3 M$_w$  4.6 M$_w$ | IV | | 13 | Severe damage | |
| 2022-11-09 | Pesaro-Urbino | 5.6 M$_w$ | VI | | 11 | Moderate damage | |
| 2020-02-24 | Calabria | 4.8 M$_w$ | VI | | 1 | Moderate damage | |
| 2018-12-26 | Sicily | 5.0 M$_w$ | VII | | 30 | Several buildings damaged | |
| 2018-08-16 | Molise | 5.3 M$_w$ | VI | | 2 | Moderate damage | |
| 2017-08-21 | Campania | 4.2 M$_w$ | VI | 2 | 42 | | |
| 2017-01-18 | Abruzzo, Lazio | 5.7 M$_w$ | VIII | 34 | 29 | Sequence | |
| 2016-10-30 | Umbria | 6.6 M$_w$ | XI | 3 (indirect) | Dozens | Sequence / extensive damage | |
| 2016-08-24 | Lazio, Umbria, Marche | 6.2 M$_w$ | XI | 299 | >400 | | |
| 2013-06-21 | Tuscany | 5.2 M$_w$ | V | | 4 | | |
| 2013-02-16 | Lazio | 4.8 M$_w$ | V | 1 (indirect) | | | |
| 2012-05-29 | Emilia-Romagna | 5.8 M$_w$ | VII | 20 | 350 | | |
| 2012-05-20 | Emilia-Romagna | 6.1 M$_w$ | VII | 5 (+2 indirect) | 50 | | |
| 2010-08-16 | Sicily | 4.5 M$_w$ | | | 7 | Landslides | |
| 2009-04-06 | L'Aquila | 6.3 M$_w$ | X | 309 | 1,500+ | Severe damage | |
| 2004-11-24 | Lombardy, Salò | 5.1 M$_w$ | VII–VIII * | | 9 | Many buildings damaged | |
| 2003-09-14 | Emilia-Romagna | 5.3 M$_w$ | VII | | Some | 10 buildings damaged | |
| 2003-04-11 | Piedmont, Alessandria | 5.0 M$_b$ | VI * | | 2 | | |
| 2002-11-01 | Molise | 5.8 M$_w$ | | | 3 | Doublet / additional damage | |
| 2002-10-31 | Molise | 5.9 | | 30 | | Doublet | |
| 2002-09-06 | Sicily | 6.0 M$_w$ | | 2 | 20 | Heart attacks / damage | |
| 2001-07-17 | Trentino-Alto Adige | 4.7 M$_w$ | VI * | 3 | 3 | Landslides | |
| 1998-09-09 | Basilicata, Calabria | 5.6 M$_w$ | VI–VII * | 2 | 12 | Buildings damaged | |
| 1997-09-26 | Umbria, Marche | 6.1 | | 9 | | Doublet | |
| 1997-09-26 | Umbria, Foligno | 5.7 | | 2 | | Doublet | |
| 1991-05-26 | Basilicata, Potenza | 5.1 M$_b$ | VIII | | A few | Minor damage | |
| 1990-12-13 | Sicily, Augusta | 5.6 M$_w$ | VII | 19 | 200 | Severe damage | |
| 1990-05-05 | Basilicata, Campania | 5.8 M$_w$ | VII | 2 | 16 | | |
| 1987-05-02 | Emilia-Romagna | 4.8 M$_b$ | VII | 1 | Several | Slight damage | |
| 1985-03-14 | Molise | 4.3 M$_w$ | V | 1 | | Slight damage | |
| 1984-05-07 | Abruzzo, Lazio | 5.9 M$_w$ | VIII | 3 | 100 | Extensive damage | |
| 1984-04-29 | Umbria, Gubbio | 5.7 M$_w$ | VIII | | 36 | Extensive damage | |
| 1983-11-09 | Emilia-Romagna | 5.1 M$_w$ | VIII | | 100 | Some damage | |
| 1980-11-23 | Campania, Basilicata | 6.9 M$_w$ | X | 2,483–4,900 | 7,700–8,934 | Extreme damage | |
| 1979-09-19 | Umbria, Norcia | 5.8 M$_s$ | | 5 | 5,000 | Severe damage | NGDC |
| 1978-04-15 | Gulf of Patti, Sicily | 5.7 M$_s$ | | 5 | | Moderate damage | NGDC |
| 1978-03-11 | Sicily | 5.0 M$_s$ | | 2 | 2 | Moderate damage | NGDC |
| 1976-09-15 | Friuli | 5.9/6.0 | | 8 (+3 indirect) | | Aftershock | |
| 1976-09-11 | Friuli | 5.8/5.6 | | 2 (indirect) | | Aftershock | |
| 1976-05-06 | Friuli | 6.5 M$_w$ | X | 900–978 | 1,700–2,400 | Extreme damage | |
| 1972-06-14 | Ancona | 4.9 | IX | | | Extensive damage / swarm | |
| 1971-07-15 | Emilia-Romagna | 5.2 M$_b$ | VIII * | 2 | | Limited damage | NGDC |
| 1971-02-06 | Lazio | 4.6 M$_b$ | VIII | 24 | 150 | Extreme damage | NGDC |
| 1969-08-11 | Perugia | 4.7 M$_s$ | VII | | 4 | Limited damage | NGDC |
| 1968-01-15 | Western Sicily | 5.5 M$_w$ | X | 231–400 | 632–1,000 | Sequence | |
| 1962-08-21 | Irpinia, Campania | 6.1 | IX * | 16 | | Moderate damage | |
| 1943-10-03 | Offida, Marche | 5.5 M$_w$ | IX | 15 | | Very heavy damage | |
| 1936-10-18 | Cansiglio | 5.9 M$_L$ | IX | 19 | | | |
| 1933-09-26 | Abruzzo | 5.6 M$_w$ | IX | 10 | | Some damage | |
| 1930-10-30 | Senigallia, Marche | 5.9 | | 18 | | | |
| 1930-07-23 | Irpinia | 6.6 M$_s$ | X | 1,404 | 4,624–7,000 | | |
| 1920-09-07 | Garfagnana | 6.4 | | 171 | | | |
| 1917-04-26 | Northern Umbria | 5.8 | | 20 | | | |
| 1915-01-13 | Avezzano | 6.7 M$_w$ | XI | 29,978–32,610 | | Extreme damage | |
| 1914-05-08 | Sicily | 4.9 M$_s$ | X | 120 | | Severe damage | NGDC |
| 1908-12-28 | Strait of Messina | 7.1 M$_w$ | XI | 75,000–200,000 | | Extreme damage / tsunami | |
| 1907-10-23 | Calabria | 5.9 M$_s$ | VIII–X | 158–167 | | Moderate damage | NGDC |
| 1905-09-08 | Calabria | 7.2 M$_w$ | XI | 557–2,500 | | Tsunami | |
| 1901-10-30 | Salò | 5.5 M$_w$ | VII–VIII | | | Collapsed buildings | |
| 1894-11-16 | Strait of Messina, Sicily, Calabria | 6.0 | IX | 100 | | Severe damage | |
| 1887-02-23 | Liguria | 6.2–6.5 | | >2,000 | | Significant damage / tsunami | |
| 1883-07-28 | Ischia | 4.3–5.2 M$_w$ | XI | 2,313 | | Near total destruction on in Ischia | |
| 1873-06-29 | Veneto | 6.3 M$_e$ | IX–X | 80 | | | |
| 1857-12-16 | Basilicata | 7.0 M$_w$ | XI | 10,000 | | Extreme damage | |
| 1851-08-14 | Basilicata | | | 700–2,000+ | | Many buildings damaged | |
| 1836-04-25 | Calabria | 6.1 | X | 239 | | Severe damage | |
| 1831-05-26 | Taggia, Sanremo | 5.5 | VIII-IX | | | Moderate damage | |
| 1828-10-09 | Ligurian Apennines, province of Alessandria | 5.8 | VII-VIII | 19 | | Moderate damage | |
| 1808-04-02 | Piedmont | 5.7 | VIII | 2 | | Moderate damage | |
| 1805-07-26 | Campania, Molise | 6.6 M$_e$ | X | 5,573 | | Extreme damage | |
| 1802-05-12 | Lombardy, Cremona | 5.7 M$_w$ | VIII-IX | 2 | | Collapsed churches, houses, and a municipal building | |
| 1783-02-04 | Calabria | 7.0 | | 50,000 | | | |
| 1762-10-06 | L'Aquila | 5.3–6.0 M$_w$ | IX | | | Damage | |
| 1743-02-20 | Salento | 7.1 M$_w$ | IX | 180–300 | | | |
| 1732-11-29 | Campania | 6.6 | | Thousands | | | |
| 1706-11-03 | Abruzzo | 6.6-6.84 M$_w$ | X | 2,400 | | Extreme damage | |
| 1703-02-12 | L'Aquila | 6.7 | XI | 2,500–5,000 | | | |
| 1703-01-16 | Montereale | 6.2 | VIII | | | | |
| 1703-01-14 | Norcia | 6.7 | X | 6,240–9,761 | | | |
| 1694-09-08 | Basilicata | 6.9 | | >6,000 | | | |
| 1693-01-11 | Sicily, Malta | 7.4 M$_w$ | XI | 60,000 | | | |
| 1688-06-05 | Sannio | 7.0 | XI | 3,311 | | Severe damage | NGDC |
| 1659-11-06 | Calabria | | | 2,035 | | Extreme damage | NGDC |
| 1654-07-23 | Sorano, Marsica | | X | 600 | | Severe damage | NGDC |
| 1639-10-07 | Lazio | 6.0 M$_w$ | IX–X | 500 | | | |
| 1638-06-09 | Calabria | | IX | 52 | | Moderate damage | |
| 1638-03-27 | Calabria | 7.0 M$_s$ | XI | 9,581–30,000 | | Extreme damage / tsunami | |
| 1627-07-30 | Apulia | 6.7 M$_w$ | X | 5,000 | | Tsunami | |
| 1626-07-30 | Naples | | | 70,000 | | | |
| 1626-04-05 | Girifalco | 6.1 M$_w$ | X | | | Very heavy damage | |
| 1616-06-04 | Cagliari | | | | | No casualties or damage reported. Registeted on a plaque in the city's cathedral | |
| 1570-11-17 | Ferrara | | | 70–200 | | | |
| 1561-08-19 | Vallo di Diano | 6.4 M$_w$ | X | 500 | | | |
| 1517-03-29 | Irpinia | 5.4 M$_w$ | | >50 | | Moderate damage | |
| 1511-03-26 | Friuli | | X | 15 | | Severe damage | |
| 1466-01-15 | Irpinia | 6.1 | VIII-IX | >100 | | | |
| 1461-11-27 | L'Aquila | 6.3 | IX | >80 | | High intensity over Abruzzo region | |
| 1456-12-30 | Benevento | 6.6 M$_w$ | X–XI | | | Sequence | |
| 1456-12-05 | Molise | 7.1–7.4 M$_w$ | X–XI | 30,000–70,000 | | High intensity over large area. Largest earthquake on the Italian Peninsula. | |
| 1453-09-28 | Florence | 5.3 | VII-VIII | | | Moderate damage | |
| 1361-07-17 | Ascoli Satriano | 6.0 | | >1,000 | | Extreme damage | |
| 1349-09-09 | L'Aquila | 6.7 | X | 2,000 | | Severe damage | NGDC |
| 1348-01-25 | Friuli | 6.9 | X | 10,000 | | Extreme damage | |
| 1343-11-25 | Naples | | | | | Tsunami | |
| 1328-12-04 | Norcia | 6.4 | X | 2,000-5,000 | | | |
| 1315-12-03 | L'Aquila | 5.6 | IX | | | Moderate damage | |
| 1298-12-01 | Monti Reatini | 6.3 | X | | | Numerous deaths and severe damage | |
| 1293-09-04 | Samnium, Naples | 5.8 | VIII-IX | | | Moderate damage | |
| 1222-12-25 | Northern Italy | | X | 12,000 | | Extreme damage | |
| 1169-02-04 | Sicily | | X | 15,000–25,000 | | Severe damage / tsunami | |
| 1117-01-03 | Northern Italy | | VII | | | Severe damage | |
| 1046-11-09 | Valle dell'Adige | | IX-X | | | Numerous deaths and severe damage | |
| 801-04-29 | Central Apennines | 5.4 M$_e$ | VII–VIII | | | Severe damage | |
| 951 | Rossano | | IX | | | Severe damage | |
| 853 | Messina | | IX-X | | | Severe damage | |
| 847 | Samnium | | | | | Severe damage | |
| 801-04-29 | Spoleto, Perugia | | | | | Severe damage | |
| 778 | Treviso | | VIII-IX | 48 | | Moderate damage | |
| 725 | Classe | | VIII | | | Moderate damage | |
| 584 | Liguria | | | | | Severe damage | |
| 375 | Benevento | | IX | | | Severe damage | |
| 369-07-21 | Benevento | | | Thousands | | Severe damage | |
| 361 | Sicily and Calabria | | X | Drastic decrease in the population along the Strait of Messina | | Extreme damage / tsunami | |
| 346 | Samnium | | IX | | | Severe damage | |
| 101 | San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore | | IX-X | | | Severe damage | |
| 99 | Circello, Benevento | | IX-X | | | Severe damage | |
| 79-08-24 | Vesuvian area | | VIII | Thousands | | Earthquake caused by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD | |
| 62-02-05 | Campania | 5.2–6.1 | IX–X | | | Severe damage | |
| 56 BC-04 | Potenza Picena | | VIII-IX | | | Severe damage | |
| 91 BC | Modena, Reggio Emilia | | VIII | | | Moderate damage | |
| 100 BC | Marche | | VIII-X | | | Severe damage | |
| 217 BC-06 | Etruria | | X | | | Severe damage | |
| Note: The NGDC has records for significant events that go back several thousand years BCE. Added for source diversity, the United States Geological Survey reports are sufficient from the early 1980s to the present. Occasionally, these sources omit the maximum felt intensity. Rovida et al. 2011 can help fill in some of the gaps. Intensity values derived from this source are indicated with an asterisk. The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described also apply to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded. ||||||||

## Gallery

* 1570 Ferrara earthquake
* 1693 Sicily earthquake
* 1783 Calabrian earthquake
* 1857 Basilicata earthquake
* 1883 Ischia earthquake
* 1908 Messina earthquake
* 1976 Friuli earthquake
* 1980 Irpinia earthquake
* 2009 L'Aquila earthquake
* 2016 Central Italy earthquake