## 3 Historical Earthquakes of the Southern Apennines Felt in Naples  
The strongest historical earthquakes to have struck the city of Naples since the beginning of the 15 th century (Figure 1) were in 1456 (I\({}_{0}\) = XI MCS), 1688 (I\({}_{0}\) = XI MCS), 1694 (I\({}_{0}\) = X MCS), 1702 (I\({}_{0}\) = X MCS), 1732 (I\({}_{0}\) = X-XI MCS), 1805 (I\({}_{0}\) = X MCS), 1930 (I\({}_{0}\) = X MCS), 1962 (I\({}_{0}\) = IX MCS) and 1980 (I\({}_{0}\) = X MCS) [1; 2; 3]. Devastating effects were inflicted upon the historical Neapolitan urban area as a result of these seismic events, and damages reaching levels of up to VIII MCS have been recorded [6; 7]. During the 20 th century, the city of Naples was hit by three major earthquakes (in 1930, 1962 and 1980) originating in the Southern Apennines. The last of these events is still deeply engraved in the collective memory, due to the high number of casualties, of about 3000, and the almost complete destruction of some nearby Apennines villages. The main seismological and macroseismic parameters of the earthquakes that hit the city of Naples in the previous centuries are listed in Appendix A Table A1. Between 1293 and 2002, 178 recorded events hit Naples, about ninety of which had an epicentral intensity of I\({}_{0}\) >= VII MCS. Ten events struck Naples severely, exceeding a damage level greater than VII MCS [6; 7]. The 5 December 1456 earthquake  
Figure 5: Map of the 1688 MCS macroseismic intensity (modified from [1]) on the left; map of the damage to Naples from the earthquake of 5 June 1688 on the right. Figure 6: Map of the 1694 MCS macroseismic intensity (modified from [1]) on the left; map of the damage to Naples from the earthquake of 8 September 1694 on the right. is considered one of the most catastrophic events to have occurred in Italy during historical times, and had an epicentral intensity of XI MCS and a magnitude Mw = 7.2 [14; 42]. It was a very complex event, with five main shocks triggered along the axis of the Apennines [47] along a narrow belt ranging from the Abruzzi to Campania regions. The seismogenic area inside Benevento province was the nearest to Naples, and caused high levels of damage. The earthquake's destruction covered a large region (Figure 4), with an intensity I\(\geq\) IX MCS and more than 90 localities affected in Central and Southern Italy, killing at least 60,000 people. In Naples, the earthquake resulted in 100 casualties. Damages were widespread, many buildings were damaged and streets were blocked. Historical sources report that damage occurred above all to the most important castles, fortresses, churches and monasteries of the time (Appendix A Table A2). Great and serious damages were recorded in Naples (Figure 4). In detail, collapses occurred in Castel Sant'Elmo, Castel Capuano and the churches of San Agostino, San Pietro Martire, San Lorenzo, Santa Chiara, San Giovanni Maggiore, Santa Maria Maggiore alla Pietrasanta, San Domenico and San Severino. Moreover, even the bell towers of San Agrippino and the Cathedral fell down; the Certoas of San Martino and Monte Oliveto monasteries, located outside the walls, were severely damage (Appendix A Table A2). The severity of the impact in the city of Naples was estimated to be equal to VIII MCS [5; 47; 42]. Another devastating earthquake that affected the whole Campania region occurred on 5 June 1688, with its epicenter inside the Sannio area (Figure 5). This earthquake was characterized by an epicentral intensity of I\({}_{0}\) = XI MCS, presumably in the Cerreto Sannita and Civitella Licinio villages, and a value of magnitude Mw = 7.06 and I\({}_{0}\) = X on the basis of the Environmental Seismic Intensity (ESI-07) scale [48]. The earthquake resulted in a high number of casualties, with some chronicles reporting as many as 10,000 deaths.