1920 Garfagnana earthquake
Encyclopedia
The 1920 Garfagnana earthquake (also known as the Lunigiana earthquake) was a major earthquake
that occurred on September 7, 1920 in Garfagnana
and Lunigiana
, both agricultural areas in the Italian
Tuscany
region. The quake hypocenter
was located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) beneath Villa Collemandina
. The maximum felt intensity was rated as X (Intense) on the Mercalli Intensity Scale
, and 6.6 on the Richter magnitude scale
.
It was one of the most destructive seismic events recorded in the Apenninic region in the twentieth century. Due to good news coverage, availability of official documents on the damage and abundance of recordings from surveillance stations throughout Europe
, it was regarded as a first-rate case study to improve knowledge of tectonics
and macroseismic
analysis.
since the Late Miocene
to Pliocene
epochs. This extension is a result of the same process that opened the Tyrrhenian Sea
during the same period, the rollback of the subducting Adriatic Plate. The continuing extension has resulted in a series of northwest-southeast trending normal faults bounding basins filled by the Pliocene to recent sediments. Near Garfagnana, there are two such basins, the Serchio and Magra grabens. The 1920 event is thought to have ruptured the east-dipping Casciana-Sillicano fault on the southwestern boundary of the Serchio graben.
Lunigiana and Garfagnana are part of the Apennines, a mountain area located above a subduction
zone between the Adriatic
and Tyrrhenian tectonic plates
. The region, crossed by different systems of active faults, is mainly mountainous and rocky, with noticeable variations in soil composition.
Despite being inhabited since ancient times, the region experienced rapid colonization in the Middle Ages
, thanks to agricultural techniques allowing the exploitation of the steep hills and to the new wealth acquired by the nearby Republic of Florence
.
According to records made by Bartolomeo Pucci, captain of Florence's army, the town of Fivizzano was struck by a major earthquake in 1481, with an intensity estimated at VIII (Destructive) on the Mercalli scale. The town experienced extensive damage, but few or no other records were preserved in the small town. Until the nineteenth century, it was a common occurrence for city leaders to downplay the disasters striking their lands to avoid giving nearby rival cities any incentive to declare war.
On June 9 1545, Borgo Val di Taro
was destroyed by another earthquake. From June 8 to 10, 1641, two medium-sized shocks hit nearby Pontremoli
, causing damage to many buildings, as recorded in the Memorie Pontremolesi chronicles. On July 23, 1746, an earthquake hit the town of Barga
. On January 21, 1767, Fivizzano was struck again, as was Pontremoli on February 14, 1834.
Fivizzano was struck again on October 15, 1939, but while the energy release of the quake was larger, the hypocenter was much deeper (between 20 and 26 kilometres, or 12 to 16 mi, down) and damage was significant, but limited. On October 25, 1957, Pontremoli and Borgotaro were struck again by a very powerful quake. As its hypocenter was over 45 kilometres (28 mi) deep, the shock was felt across the whole of northern Italy, but caused little damage.
Between 1740 and 2000, the Garfagnana region experienced 16 earthquakes rated as "strong" or above (class 6 or greater on the Mercalli scale).
were recorded on September 6, 1920, among them a medium-intensity VI grade shock at 2:05 p.m. Frightened by these foreshocks, many people choose to sleep outside their homes in the open air, since the weather was still mild in the late summer.
The main shock came at 7:55 a.m. (local time) the following morning, after a few hours of calm, its epicenter directly under the town of Villa Collemandina.
The towns of Vigneta and Villa Collemandina
were completely destroyed. Fivizzano
, with its tall buildings in the city center, was almost totally demolished, those buildings that remained standing were later destroyed by the aftershocks. Piazza al Serchio
and another 30 towns suffered substantial damage to buildings and infrastructure. Reports of collapsed buildings came from about 100 towns and over 350 comuni
from eastern Liguria
to western Versilia
were affected. The earthquake was noticed by people in the French Riviera
, Friuli
, Marche
and Umbria
, over 400 kilometres (248.5 mi) from the stricken area.
Aftershocks lasted up until August 1921.
of the event displayed some anomalies in damage distribution. The town of Fosdinovo
and its surroundings sustained only minor damage, despite being in the middle of an area of widespread destruction. Vigneta and Castiglioncello
, both frazioni
of Casola in Lunigiana
, had very different fates: the first was completely devastated, while the latter experienced only a few cracks in the walls and some collapsed chimneys. Study on those anomalies led to a better understanding of the effect of ground composition on the transmission of seismic waves. Vigneta was built on alluvial ground
, made of sand and cobbles. It turned out that the cobbles acted as an amplifier for the shock waves, multiplying their intensity and deflecting them in random directions. Sometimes, cobbles shattered, and the ground above was further destabilized. Castiglioncello was built on an extraordinarily compact limestone slab, which acted as a barrier that reflected shock waves. Resonance and shock-wave amplification phenomena, well understood today, were unknown at the time of the Garfagnana earthquake.
in Lunigiana
and the upper Garfagnana
, received X degree
damage, including the collapse of many buildings. Newspaper headlines read "Fivizzano is no more". A much bigger area, assessed at over 1060 sqkm, received significant damage, and minor damage was sustained by other regions in Toscana, Emilia Romagna and Liguria
. Many provinces reported consequences from the shocks: nearby Lucca
and Massa Carrara, Modena
, Parma
, Pisa
, Pistoia
, Reggio Emilia
and La Spezia
.
In Pontremoli
the shock destroyed the rooftop of the Chiesa della Misericordia church: debris fell on the ancient organ, damaging it.
Roads near the epicenter were compromised, along with some bridges. Since rescue operations were mostly managed on a local scale (city or town, lacking any national coordinating authority), that was a minor detriment to relief work. More of a problem was the availability of first aid resources, which were scarce. There was also much less food and tents than what was needed.
In the broader damaged area,, some springs changed their path or became cloudy due to a sharp increase in the content of Hydrogen sulfide
.
On September 21, refugees were affected by an exceptionally violent downpour, further worsening their condition. The refugees asked Bishop Angelo Fiorini to intercede with the Pope, hopeful to receive some economic help or relief effort, but received only a blessing to the victims. On the other hand, many organizations of emigrants in the United States
and Argentina
managed to collect and send significant donations of money.
Casualties could have been much higher without the precursor shocks scaring much of the populace into sleeping outdoors. Garfagnana and Lunigiana were mostly farming areas, so at the time of the disaster, most men were out in mountain pastures or going to their fields, leaving their wives and children at home.
- sustained only partial damage to the roof, but was nevertheless demolished, along with a Medici palace and the Teatro degli Imperfetti theater, in the rush to take advantage of the disaster; new housing and commercial buildings were erected on the valuable lots formerly occupied by the monuments.
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
that occurred on September 7, 1920 in Garfagnana
Garfagnana
Garfagnana is an historical region of Italy, today part of the province of Lucca in the Apennines, in northwest Tuscany, but before the unification of Italy it belonged to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, ruled by the Este family. For a short time, in the 16th century, it was governed by the poet...
and Lunigiana
Lunigiana
The Lunigiana is an historical territory of Italy, which today falls within the provinces of La Spezia and Massa Carrara. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, which no longer exists....
, both agricultural areas in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
region. The quake hypocenter
Hypocenter
The hypocenter refers to the site of an earthquake or a nuclear explosion...
was located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) beneath Villa Collemandina
Villa Collemandina
Villa Collemandina is a comune in the Province of Lucca in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 80 km northwest of Florence and about 35 km north of Lucca....
. The maximum felt intensity was rated as X (Intense) on the Mercalli Intensity Scale
Mercalli intensity scale
The Mercalli intensity scale is a seismic scale used for measuring the intensity of an earthquake. It measures the effects of an earthquake, and is distinct from the moment magnitude M_w usually reported for an earthquake , which is a measure of the energy released...
, and 6.6 on the Richter magnitude scale
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
.
It was one of the most destructive seismic events recorded in the Apenninic region in the twentieth century. Due to good news coverage, availability of official documents on the damage and abundance of recordings from surveillance stations throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, it was regarded as a first-rate case study to improve knowledge of tectonics
Tectonics
Tectonics is a field of study within geology concerned generally with the structures within the lithosphere of the Earth and particularly with the forces and movements that have operated in a region to create these structures.Tectonics is concerned with the orogenies and tectonic development of...
and macroseismic
Seismology
Seismology is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other planet-like bodies. The field also includes studies of earthquake effects, such as tsunamis as well as diverse seismic sources such as volcanic, tectonic, oceanic,...
analysis.
Geology
The epicenter of the 1920 earthquake lay within the inner zone of the Northern Apennines, which has been affected by extensional tectonicsExtensional tectonics
Extensional tectonics is concerned with the structures formed, and the tectonic processes associated with, the stretching of the crust or lithosphere.-Deformation styles:...
since the Late Miocene
Late Miocene
The Late Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch....
to Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
epochs. This extension is a result of the same process that opened the Tyrrhenian Sea
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....
during the same period, the rollback of the subducting Adriatic Plate. The continuing extension has resulted in a series of northwest-southeast trending normal faults bounding basins filled by the Pliocene to recent sediments. Near Garfagnana, there are two such basins, the Serchio and Magra grabens. The 1920 event is thought to have ruptured the east-dipping Casciana-Sillicano fault on the southwestern boundary of the Serchio graben.
Lunigiana and Garfagnana are part of the Apennines, a mountain area located above a subduction
Subduction
In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundaries by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate, sinking into the Earth's mantle, as the plates converge. These 3D regions of mantle downwellings are known as "Subduction Zones"...
zone between the Adriatic
Apulian Plate
The Adriatic or Apulian Plate is a small tectonic plate carrying primarily continental crust that broke away from the African plate along a large transform fault in the Cretaceous period. The name Adriatic Plate is usually used when referring to the northern part of the plate...
and Tyrrhenian tectonic plates
Plate tectonics
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere...
. The region, crossed by different systems of active faults, is mainly mountainous and rocky, with noticeable variations in soil composition.
Previous events
As is common in central Italy, many towns are built on steep hillside or along deep valleys. The region is rated as second and third class on a four-class scale of seismicity, according to the Italian building code (four being the highest).Despite being inhabited since ancient times, the region experienced rapid colonization in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, thanks to agricultural techniques allowing the exploitation of the steep hills and to the new wealth acquired by the nearby Republic of Florence
Republic of Florence
The Republic of Florence , or the Florentine Republic, was a city-state that was centered on the city of Florence, located in modern Tuscany, Italy. The republic was founded in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon Margravine Matilda's death. The...
.
According to records made by Bartolomeo Pucci, captain of Florence's army, the town of Fivizzano was struck by a major earthquake in 1481, with an intensity estimated at VIII (Destructive) on the Mercalli scale. The town experienced extensive damage, but few or no other records were preserved in the small town. Until the nineteenth century, it was a common occurrence for city leaders to downplay the disasters striking their lands to avoid giving nearby rival cities any incentive to declare war.
On June 9 1545, Borgo Val di Taro
Borgo Val di Taro
Borgo Val di Taro is a town and comune in Emilia, Italy, in the Province of Parma, 63 km from the city of Parma.Borgo Val di Taro is an important centre for cattle husbandry in Emilia and it's one of the zones where Parmigiano-Reggiano is produced....
was destroyed by another earthquake. From June 8 to 10, 1641, two medium-sized shocks hit nearby Pontremoli
Pontremoli
Pontremoli is a small city, comune and bishop's see in the province of Massa-Carrara, Tuscany, Italy. Literally translated, "Pontremoli" derives from "Trembling Bridge" , with the commune having been named after a prominent bridge across the Magra.Pontremoli is situated in the upper...
, causing damage to many buildings, as recorded in the Memorie Pontremolesi chronicles. On July 23, 1746, an earthquake hit the town of Barga
Barga
Barga is a medieval town and comune of the province of Lucca in Tuscany, central Italy. It is home to around 10,000 people and is the chief town of the "Media Valle" of the Serchio.-Geography:...
. On January 21, 1767, Fivizzano was struck again, as was Pontremoli on February 14, 1834.
Fivizzano was struck again on October 15, 1939, but while the energy release of the quake was larger, the hypocenter was much deeper (between 20 and 26 kilometres, or 12 to 16 mi, down) and damage was significant, but limited. On October 25, 1957, Pontremoli and Borgotaro were struck again by a very powerful quake. As its hypocenter was over 45 kilometres (28 mi) deep, the shock was felt across the whole of northern Italy, but caused little damage.
Between 1740 and 2000, the Garfagnana region experienced 16 earthquakes rated as "strong" or above (class 6 or greater on the Mercalli scale).
Earthquake
Precursor shocksForeshock
A foreshock is an earthquake that occurs before a larger seismic event and is related to it in both time and space. The designation of an earthquake as foreshock, mainshock or aftershock is only possible after the event....
were recorded on September 6, 1920, among them a medium-intensity VI grade shock at 2:05 p.m. Frightened by these foreshocks, many people choose to sleep outside their homes in the open air, since the weather was still mild in the late summer.
The main shock came at 7:55 a.m. (local time) the following morning, after a few hours of calm, its epicenter directly under the town of Villa Collemandina.
The towns of Vigneta and Villa Collemandina
Villa Collemandina
Villa Collemandina is a comune in the Province of Lucca in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 80 km northwest of Florence and about 35 km north of Lucca....
were completely destroyed. Fivizzano
Fivizzano
Fivizzano, a walled city in the province of Massa-Carrara, Tuscany , became part of the Republic of Florence in the 15th century thus gaining the Tuscan republic an important foothold in Lunigiana, a key region which Genoa, Pisa, Milan and Florence had sought to dominate since the early Middle Ages...
, with its tall buildings in the city center, was almost totally demolished, those buildings that remained standing were later destroyed by the aftershocks. Piazza al Serchio
Piazza al Serchio
Piazza al Serchio is a comune in the Province of Lucca in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 90 km northwest of Florence and about 40 km northwest of Lucca....
and another 30 towns suffered substantial damage to buildings and infrastructure. Reports of collapsed buildings came from about 100 towns and over 350 comuni
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
from eastern Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
to western Versilia
Versilia
The Versilia is a part of Tuscany in the north-western province of Lucca, and is named after the Versilia river.Known for fashionable Riviera resorts, it consists of numerous clubs that are frequented by local celebrities....
were affected. The earthquake was noticed by people in the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
, Friuli
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
, Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
and Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...
, over 400 kilometres (248.5 mi) from the stricken area.
Aftershocks lasted up until August 1921.
Anomalies in distribution
Isoseismic curvesIsoseismal map
In seismology an isoseismal map is used to show lines of equal felt seismic intensity, generally measured on the Modified Mercalli scale. Such maps help to identify earthquake epicenters, particularly where no instrumental records exist, such as for historical earthquakes...
of the event displayed some anomalies in damage distribution. The town of Fosdinovo
Fosdinovo
Fosdinovo is a comune in the Province of Massa-Carrara in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 110 km northwest of Florence and about 15 km northwest of Massa....
and its surroundings sustained only minor damage, despite being in the middle of an area of widespread destruction. Vigneta and Castiglioncello
Castiglioncello
Castiglioncello is a frazione of the comune of Rosignano Marittimo, in the province of Livorno, Tuscany, Italy. It stands on a promontory reaching out into the Tyrrhenian Sea, surrounded by pinewoods and hills that fall right down to the sea forming cliffs, little inlets, coves and sandy...
, both frazioni
Frazione
A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
of Casola in Lunigiana
Casola in Lunigiana
Casola in Lunigiana is a comune in the Province of Massa-Carrara in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 100 km northwest of Florence and about 20 km north of Massa.-Main sights:...
, had very different fates: the first was completely devastated, while the latter experienced only a few cracks in the walls and some collapsed chimneys. Study on those anomalies led to a better understanding of the effect of ground composition on the transmission of seismic waves. Vigneta was built on alluvial ground
Alluvial plain
An alluvial plain is a relatively flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms...
, made of sand and cobbles. It turned out that the cobbles acted as an amplifier for the shock waves, multiplying their intensity and deflecting them in random directions. Sometimes, cobbles shattered, and the ground above was further destabilized. Castiglioncello was built on an extraordinarily compact limestone slab, which acted as a barrier that reflected shock waves. Resonance and shock-wave amplification phenomena, well understood today, were unknown at the time of the Garfagnana earthquake.
Damage
The earthquake wrought massive destruction. Near the epicenter, an area of about 160 sqkm from FivizzanoFivizzano
Fivizzano, a walled city in the province of Massa-Carrara, Tuscany , became part of the Republic of Florence in the 15th century thus gaining the Tuscan republic an important foothold in Lunigiana, a key region which Genoa, Pisa, Milan and Florence had sought to dominate since the early Middle Ages...
in Lunigiana
Lunigiana
The Lunigiana is an historical territory of Italy, which today falls within the provinces of La Spezia and Massa Carrara. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, which no longer exists....
and the upper Garfagnana
Garfagnana
Garfagnana is an historical region of Italy, today part of the province of Lucca in the Apennines, in northwest Tuscany, but before the unification of Italy it belonged to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, ruled by the Este family. For a short time, in the 16th century, it was governed by the poet...
, received X degree
Mercalli intensity scale
The Mercalli intensity scale is a seismic scale used for measuring the intensity of an earthquake. It measures the effects of an earthquake, and is distinct from the moment magnitude M_w usually reported for an earthquake , which is a measure of the energy released...
damage, including the collapse of many buildings. Newspaper headlines read "Fivizzano is no more". A much bigger area, assessed at over 1060 sqkm, received significant damage, and minor damage was sustained by other regions in Toscana, Emilia Romagna and Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
. Many provinces reported consequences from the shocks: nearby Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
and Massa Carrara, Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
, Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, Pistoia
Pistoia
Pistoia is a city and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno.-History:...
, Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
and La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
.
In Pontremoli
Pontremoli
Pontremoli is a small city, comune and bishop's see in the province of Massa-Carrara, Tuscany, Italy. Literally translated, "Pontremoli" derives from "Trembling Bridge" , with the commune having been named after a prominent bridge across the Magra.Pontremoli is situated in the upper...
the shock destroyed the rooftop of the Chiesa della Misericordia church: debris fell on the ancient organ, damaging it.
Roads near the epicenter were compromised, along with some bridges. Since rescue operations were mostly managed on a local scale (city or town, lacking any national coordinating authority), that was a minor detriment to relief work. More of a problem was the availability of first aid resources, which were scarce. There was also much less food and tents than what was needed.
In the broader damaged area,, some springs changed their path or became cloudy due to a sharp increase in the content of Hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless, very poisonous, flammable gas with the characteristic foul odor of expired eggs perceptible at concentrations as low as 0.00047 parts per million...
.
On September 21, refugees were affected by an exceptionally violent downpour, further worsening their condition. The refugees asked Bishop Angelo Fiorini to intercede with the Pope, hopeful to receive some economic help or relief effort, but received only a blessing to the victims. On the other hand, many organizations of emigrants in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
managed to collect and send significant donations of money.
Casualties
171 people died in the disaster, mostly from building collapses or being hit by falling debris. A further 650 were injured. Families left homeless numbered in the thousands. Thirty of the casualties and half the injured were concentrated in Fivizzano.Casualties could have been much higher without the precursor shocks scaring much of the populace into sleeping outdoors. Garfagnana and Lunigiana were mostly farming areas, so at the time of the disaster, most men were out in mountain pastures or going to their fields, leaving their wives and children at home.
Rebuilding
The rebuilding took over ten years. Property speculation was reported in Fivizzano, where well-off local people bought up plots from those without the means of rebuilding their homes. Reconstruction, lacking a town plan, was messy and disorganized. In Fivizzano, the ancient San Giovanni church - built by ancestors of Pope Nicholas VPope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V , born Tommaso Parentucelli, was Pope from March 6, 1447 to his death in 1455.-Biography:He was born at Sarzana, Liguria, where his father was a physician...
- sustained only partial damage to the roof, but was nevertheless demolished, along with a Medici palace and the Teatro degli Imperfetti theater, in the rush to take advantage of the disaster; new housing and commercial buildings were erected on the valuable lots formerly occupied by the monuments.
External links
- Photos of the disaster on Commissione Promozione Acciaio website
- Fabio Ortopassi, a presentation including many charts and graphs about the Lunigiana earthquake, from the Apriamoci al Terremoto meeting, September 2010