| Abstract: | The relevant results of the study of more than 1700 Italian historical earthquakes from the year 1000 to 1982 are presented here. The research was carried out from 1983 to 1987 as part of a study promoted by ENEL (the National Electricity Board) for the seismic siting of nuclear power plants. A single coherent project has been developed, that involved 111 historical researchers who operated in 813 research centres in Italy and abroad. Problems such as the methods, research, analysis and interpretation of the numerous and various effects caused both by destructive and non-destructive earthquakes recorded in the historical sources, have been considered on a large scale for the first time. The earthquake records, collected in a data bank and interpreted according to a multi-disciplinary historical and seismological approach, have allowed the detailed reconstruction of the location and chronology of both individual and repeated events. This major research study has allowed us to evaluate the inexactness of the present Catalogue of Italian earthquakes in relation to the parameters of intensity, location and dating. From the synthesis of the results of the revision emerged sufficient information to value the reliability of the present Catalogue. TERRA Nova (1989) 1 , 151–162. |
