Italia Meridionale

1926-1928

Special Collections DG416 BH51

Milano: Touring Club Italiano

The city of L’Aquila (meaning ‘the Eagle’) has had its fair share of earthquakes. On 3 December 1315, the city was struck by an earthquake which seriously damaged the San Francesco Church. Another struck on 22 January 1349, killing about 800 people. Other earthquakes have followed: 1452, 1461, 1501, 1646, 1703 (3000 people died and almost all the churches collapsed), 1706, 1786 (6,000 killed), and in modern times, 1958 and April 2009. The last was of 6.3 magnitude and caused damage to between 3,000 and 10,000 buildings in L’Aquila. This 1928 map indicates the Duomo area, which contains the market as well as prominent churches such as those of Saints Massimo and Giorgio. Destroyed by the 2009 earthquake, this area is undergoing restoration today.