Publication Date:
2020-11-20
Description:
In this paperwe trace the impact of the 1669 eruption and the 1693 earthquakes in eastern Sicily, their effects on
the people living in the Etna region and, more particularly, in the city of Catania and its hinterland. The former
event was the largest historic eruption of Etna, having a flow field with an area of ca. 40 km2 and a maximum
flow length of ca. 17 km, whereas the latter – occurring only 24 years later – killed between 11,000 and 20,000
of Catania’s estimated 20–27,000 inhabitants, plus many more in smaller settlements. Using a combination of
field-based research, contemporary accounts and archival sources, the authors are able to drawa number of conclusions.
First, the 1669 eruption, although it did not kill or injure, was economically the most devastating of historical
eruptions. Although it affected a limited area, inundation by lava meant that landwas effectively sterilized
for centuries and, in a pre-industrial agriculturally-based economy, recovery could not occur quicklywithout outside
assistance from the State. Indeed some of the worst affected municipalities (i.e. Comuni) were only able to
support populations that were much reduced in size. Secondly, much of the damage caused to buildings by volcanic
earthquakes was effectively masked, becausemost of the settlements affectedwere quickly covered by lava
flows. The vulnerability to volcanic earthquakes of traditionally constructed buildings has, however, remained a
serious example of un-ameliorated risk exposure through to the present day. A third conclusion is that the 1693
earthquakes, although more serious with respect to the number of people and the area they affected in terms of
mortality, morbidity and their immediate economic impact, saw a rapid and sustained recovery. Thiswas due in
part to the fact that, in contrast to lava flows, an earthquake does not sterilize land, but more significant was the
reduction in population numberswhich served both to release and concentrate funds for investment in recovery.
By the close of the eighteenth century Cataniawas knownthroughout Europe for the quality of its townscape and
buildings, many of which were constructed in the then fashionable (and expensive) baroque style. Finally, the
1669 and 1693 disasters were seized on by the authorities as opportunities to plan new and re-build old settlementswith
improved infrastructure to facilitate economic growth. By the nineteenth centurymany of the lessons
had been largely forgotten and there were many examples of: poor seismic design of individual buildings; and
the location of newresidential and commercial areas that placed more people at greater risk fromfuture extreme
events. Indeed it is only recently have new regulations been enacted to prevent the construction of buildings in
the vicinity of active faults and to control development in other hazardous zones.
Description:
Published
Description:
25-40
Description:
1V. Storia e struttura dei sistemi vulcanici
Description:
JCR Journal
Description:
restricted
Keywords:
Etna, 1669 eruption, 1693 earthquake, Resilience
;
04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.99. General or miscellaneous
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
article
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