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This report was translated to english from
the Catalog of Strong Italian
Earthquakes 461 B.C. to 1990 at http://storing.ingrm.it/cft/index.htm.
This on-line catalog is a wealth of information relating to earthquakes
and their socio economic affects on the victims in all of Italy.
The excerpts for the five earthquakes below were gathered
after performing a search of earthquakes affecting Marano Marchesato.
There is much more information available on the source
web site, but for the non-italian speaking (whose club I am a member,) I
tried to briefly summarize what I found important, interesting, and relevent to
the study of the life and times in Marano Marchesato.
The first paragraph of each excerpt describes elements
specific to Marano Marchesato. Details in following paragraphs relate to
the general global affects of the tremor.
Earthquake of 5 February 1783
The earthquake sequence began on 5 February 1783, and on
28 March 1783 it affected Marano Marchesato.
The earthquake was very strong. Thirty
homes collapsed, as many were unscathed, the remaining endured damages of
varied extent; all the churches were damaged and rendered unsafe.
The aftermath resulted in landslides with many uprooted trees.
This earthquake devastated all of Calabria during the
February and March 1783. The
tremerous events and disastrous aftermath of epidemic fever brought about an
attempt at redistributing resources throughout the affected area.
Eclesiastic property was sold in order to finance the
reparations, however little change was made to ease the burdens of the
majority peasant population. 83%
of the land was under baronial power, whose power exceeded that of the state.
The events caused a movement from rural to more populated areas, where
the redistributed resources were concentrated.
Earthquake of 12 October 1835
The earthquake damaged the chiesa parrochiale.
The earthquake centered in the valley of the Cosentino and claimed a
total of 115 lives and 240 wounded. No
fatalaties or wounded were specifically noted in Marano Marchesato.
The event added aggravation to the already precarious situation for the
contadini and pastori of the area.
Interestingly, the day before earthquake (11 October)
after the sunset a " heated meteor " was seen in the sky. One said
that the animals had had strange behaviors: the horses stopped and decidedly
planted their legs in the land; the dogs had barked and their hair had
ruffled; the sheep scattered in the fields and emitting a feable bleating and
all the birds they emitted strange chirps.
The earthquake affected the
grounds and water in all the area hit. In particular, between Cosenza and
Castiglione Cosentino the ground appeared moved such that it looked like the
land had been plowed; the cliffs were cracked and split; some water sources
were diminished, others became turbid (murky); wells went dry.
Earthquake of 12 February 1854
The earthquake claimed
the lives of 4-6 persons out of a population of 2,988 in Marano Marchesato. Many homes collapsed, 100 out of 424. The remaining homes were damaged and rendered uninhabitable.
The church of the Assunta, and SS. Mo Rosario were nearly collapsed.
The community clock collapsed.
The affected area
around Cosenza claimed about 500 lives. The
agricultural communites surrounding Cosenza were already utilizing
insufficient productive methods of cultivation.
The tremor resulted in the inability to use many of the public
cultivation land. Transportation,
already difficult in the area, was reduced from cart to the back of the mule,
adversely affecting any expedient recovery aid to the area.
The areas around Cosenza most affected were Sant'Ippolito,
Rende, Cosenza, Dipignano, Carolei, and Paterno Calabro.
Large and deep cracks were formed and many landslides occurred,
aggravated by the very heavy rains that occurred during the previous two
months of the quake. In Cerisano
sulphureous fumes were seeping from a crack; near Saint Fili liquification of
the ground was observed.
Earthquake of 8 September 1905
The earthquake produced serious damages in Marano.
While not many buildings collapsed, the damages to the homes were such
that the possibility of reepair was doubtful.
The greatest damage was felt by the farmhouses in the outlying
countryside. Considerable damage
occured to the two churches and the public buildings.
Seven victims were reported and 416 homes were in need of repair.
The homes that were affected the worst were those that
were already damaged by seismic events and also due to poor construction
(pebbles, mud and straw.) The
better constructed homes of the "Americani" (those who made money in
America and returned to build homes) predominantly survived the quake.
The earthquake was accompanied by an intense rumble of
thunder and sounds similar to "a train entering the station ". Many
observed a flare or a clear lightning bolt in coincidence with the jolt.
Others described a luminous phenomenon similar to the aurora borealis
continued from a single strip of fire. Vesuvio and Stromboli increased their
activity before the earthquake.
The earthquake affected all of Calabria and parts of
Sicily.
Earthquake of 28 December 1908
A strong earthquake but did not damage buildings in
Marano Marchesato.
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