411 REFERENCE · Wikipedia
1743 Salento earthquake
Reference material by Wikipedia contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
Earthquake in Italy
August 2022
1743 Salento earthquake yes 20 February 1743 23:30 IST Balkans 7.1 w y 39.847 18.774 inline,title Italy, Greece, Malta and Albania 9 11 m 0 on 180–300 dead
vertical
Atlas of isoseismal maps of Italian earthquakes CNR - inventario 069 - carta geografica relativa al terremoto del 20 febbraio 1743 nel Mare Ionio.tif
Atlas of isoseismal maps of Italian earthquakes CNR - inventario 068 - note informative relative al terremoto del 20 febbraio 1743 nel Mar Ionio.tiff
Isoseismal map and description of the earthquake - Atlas of isoseismal maps of Italian earthquakes CNR
The 1743 Salento earthquake affected the Apulian region of southwestern Italy on 20 February at 23:30 IST. The ~7.1 w earthquake had an epicenter in the Adriatic and Ionian seas, off the coast of modern-day Lecce and Brindisi provinces in Salento. It had a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), causing heavy damage in Nardò. Damage was also reported across the sea, in the Balkans. The earthquake also generated a tsunami of up to 11 meters in run-up. Between 180 and 300 people were killed in the disaster.
Tectonic setting
The tectonics of southern Italy is highly influenced by the subduction of the Ionian Sea oceanic crust along the Calabrian Arc in the southwest of the peninsula. To the northeast, along the west coast of the Adriatic Sea (Balkans), is the Hellenides thrust zone. This region of the Mediterranean Sea forms part of the complex convergent boundary between the Eurasian and African plates, where it is broken up into smaller microplates moving independently. As a result, Apulia and its offshore region is characterized by a zone of northwest–southeast and north-northwest–south-southeast striking extensional faults, as well as east–west striking strike-slip faults.Nappi Gaudiosi Alessio De Lucia 2017
Earthquakes are more frequent in the northern part of Apulia (Gargano) than compared to Salento in the south. Damaging earthquakes with intensities of VIII or greater has been recorded since the early 13th-century. One of those large earthquakes occurred in July 1627, measuring 6.7 w. While the Gargano area experiences frequent earthquakes greater than 6.0 w, the Salento peninsula only sees moderate-sized quakes. The earthquake of 1743 is the strongest known to strike Salento.Nappi Gaudiosi Alessio De Lucia 2017
Earthquake
In the 20th century, the Taranto Gulf and Strait of Otranto experienced a number of earthquakes of up to 5.0 w. Two moderate earthquakes in the Strait of Otranto in 1974 and 1976 hinted at a possible location for the 1743 earthquake. The introduction of a modern earthquake monitoring system indicated a northeast–southwest zone of concentrated earthquakes that extends from Salento to Altopiano delle Murge.Nappi Gaudiosi Alessio De Lucia 2017
The epicenter location of the event is still a debated topic among scientists. Several researchers have placed the epicenter on land on the basis of heavy damage in Nardò, as well as of reported seismic intensities. Most scientists have come to an agreement that the epicenter was around the Strait of Otranto, where two moderate earthquake occurred in the mid-1970s.Nappi Gaudiosi Alessio De Lucia 2017 The discovery of an active fault zone off the coast of Salento supports the hypothesis of an offshore location. Based on the distribution of its intensity, as well as a geological survey of the region, it was concluded that the event occurred on a northwest–southeast striking reverse fault at depths of 30–40 km.Galli Naso 2008
Impact
The earthquake was assigned a maximum intensity of IX–X in Nardò, where it inflicted heavy damage on the town. An estimated 150 of the total 180–300 people killed were reported in this town alone. About one-third of all structures in the town was demolished. The earthquake destroyed many homes, churches and castles. Major destruction also occurred in Brindisi and Francavilla Fontana. Unusually, some towns located close to those that were obliterated only suffered moderate damage. At Galatone, just 5 km away from Nardò, little damage occurred and the town only experienced an intensity of VI–VII. Not far from Salento is Copertino, where the intensity was VII, causing little damage.Galli Naso 2008
Damage was reported in other parts of Italy, including Naples, Matera, Reggio Calabria, and Messina. It was felt as far north as Udine and Trento. Across the strait, seven residents on the islands of Lefkada and Corfu were killed by collapsed homes.Galli Naso 2008 Damage was described as "significant" on Lefkada, which was assigned an intensity of IX. Reports of damage also came from Preveza, Albania and Malta. Intensity VII on the European macroseismic scale was felt across the Maltese Islands.Galea 2007 The earthquake severely damaged many churches and cathedrals, including the St Paul's Cathedral in Mdina.Galea 2007
Tsunami
Based on the study of boulders along the southern coast of the Strait of Otranto, it was determined that the tsunami had a run-up of 11 meters. The tsunami transported large boulders as heavy as 70 tons several meters inland. Despite the large run-ups, little documentation of the tsunami exists as the area was unpopulated. At Brindisi, the tsunami only measured 1.5 meters. The Apulia region was also struck by tsunamis associated with the earthquakes of December 1456 to January 1457.Mastronuzzi Pignatelli Sansò 2007
See also
List of earthquakes in Italy
List of earthquakes in Greece
List of earthquakes in Albania
List of historical earthquakes
List of tsunamis
References
CPTI15 v4.0 Parametric Catalog of Italian Earthquakes https://emidius.mi.ingv.it/ASMI/event/17430220_1630_000 National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology 18 March 2022
Rosa Nappi Germana Gaudiosi La sismicità storica del Salento: il forte terremoto del 20 febbraio del 1743 Ingvterremoti https://ingvterremoti.com/2020/08/17/la-sismicita-storica-del-salento-il-forte-terremoto-del-20-febbraio-del-1743/ National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology 18 March 2022 it 17 August 2020
Staff Puglia 1743: lo tsunami "ritrovato". Intervista al prof. Paolo Sansò https://www.meteoweb.eu/2012/10/puglia-1743-lo-tsunami-ritrovato-intervista-al-prof-paolo-sanso/157438/ MeteoWeb 18 March 2022 it 18 October 2012
Sources
The environmental effects of the 1743 Salento earthquake (Apulia, southern Italy): a contribution to seismic hazard assessment of the Salento Peninsula Natural Hazards Nappi R. 86 295–324 Gaudiosi G. Alessio G. M. De Lucia S. Porfido Springer 10.1007/s11069-016-2548-x 2017 S2 2017NatHa..86S.295N 132437593 free
Galli Paolo Naso Giuseppe The "taranta" effect of the 1743 earthquake in Salento (Apulia, southern Italy) Bollettino di Geofisica Teorica ed Applicata 2008 49 2 177–204 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233740381
G. Mastronuzzi C. Pignatelli P. Sansò G. Selleri Boulder accumulations produced by the 20th of February, 1743 tsunami along the coast of southeastern Salento (Apulia region, Italy) Marine Geology 2007 242 1–3 191–205 10.1016/j.margeo.2006.10.025 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025322706002738 Elsevier 2007MGeol.242..191M 140604522 subscription
Galea Pauline Seismic history of the Maltese islands and considerations on seismic risk Annals of Geophysics 2007 50 6 725–740 http://www.annalsofgeophysics.eu/index.php/annals/article/viewFile/3053/3096 University of Malta https://web.archive.org/web/20150722231842/http://www.annalsofgeophysics.eu/index.php/annals/article/viewFile/3053/3096 22 July 2015
Category:1740s earthquakes
Category:Earthquakes in Italy
Category:Earthquakes in Greece
Category:Tsunamis in Italy
Category:Tsunamis in Greece
Category:1743 in Italy
Category:History of Apulia
Category:Lefkada
Category:Earthquakes in Europe
Category:Earthquakes in Albania
Category:Natural disasters in Malta
Category:1743 disasters
Category:Province of Lecce
Category:Province of Brindisi
Category:History of the Ionian Islands