December 25, 1222 Earthquake: Brescia, Italy
An earthquake struck Brescia, Italy on December 25, 1222 at 11:00 UTC. It killed 12,000 people.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- December 25, 1222
- Time
- 11:00 UTC
- Place
- Brescia, Italy
- Intensity
- 10 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 45.550° N, 10.220° E
- Country
- Italy
The toll
- Deaths
- 12,000
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more)
- Houses destroyed
- Very many (over 1,000)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
December 25, 1222, 11:00 UTC, 45 deg 33 min N, 10 deg 13 min E, intensity XI. (reference #1075)
December 25, 1222 (or 1223), intensity 10.5. Epicenter in the area of Brescia, of Lake Garda, of Assembles Baldo and of Verone. The town of Brescia was destroyed in major part, 12,000 people perished there. The damage extended from Milan to Ferrare and of Bellune to Lucques. Disastrous counterparts, in particular on April 21, 1223. (reference #1093)
December 25, 1222, Italy, Brescia, Milan, Bologna, Modena, Parma and throughout N. Italy, intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)
Aubri of Trois Fontaines (writing in the thirteenth century) has an earthquake on Christmas Eve (24 December) 1222 in Italy, the worst effects being in Brescia. He remarks that ‘ it was said that in certain coastal areas, and especially in Cyprus, the earthquake caused damage ’ (Alexandre 1990, 173). Since the date of 24 December is at variance with the evidence of the other sources, this may refer to a destructive aftershock [of 11 May 1222]; alternatively, Aubri has just synchronised all the seismic events for 1222, which is not uncommon in chronicles. (reference #9116)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- September 7, 1920, Carrara,garfagnana, Italy
- November 17, 1570, Ferrara,bologna,padova,venizia,treviso, Italy
- June 13, 1542, Scarperia, Italy
- February 14, 1834, Borgo Val Di Taro, Italy
- June 29, 1873, Bellunese, Italy
- 778, Treviso, Italy
- May 29, 2012, Medolla, Mirandola, Cavezzo, Emilia Romagna, Italy
- October 9, 1828, Pavia, Italy
- September 18, 1601, Switzerland
- May 20, 2012, Mirandola, Emilia Romagna, Italy
- April 11, 1837, Italy
- July 15, 1971, Parma, Italy
- May 9, 1861, Citta Della Pieve, Italy
- July 25, 1855, Haut-Valais, Switzerland
- May 12, 1802, Soncino, Italy
More
Significant earthquakes of 1222The 1200sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 452.