March 4, 1626 Earthquake: Girifalco, Italy
An earthquake struck Girifalco, Italy on March 4, 1626.
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
- March 4, 1626
- Place
- Girifalco, Italy
- Intensity
- X, extreme shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 38.800° N, 16.400° E
- Country
- Italy
- Region
- Southern Europe
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 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.
March 4, 1626, Girifalco, 38 deg 49 min N, 16 deg 25 min E, intensity IX. (reference #1075)
In 1626, from March to October, many earthquakes were felt at and near Girifalco, one of which reduced that town to ruins. (reference #516)
March-April, 1626, Italy, Girifalco in (Catanzaro), intensity II which corresponds to buildings may be unroofed or shattered and some may fall, the ground may be badly cracked in places and small landslips occur. (reference #1055)
April 4, 1626, in Calabria. Very violent shock. Lasted the time of saying an Ave Maria. Followed by 15 other shocks on the same day, and by others at intervals until October. Catanzaro in particular was much injured. (reference #521)
March, April, and May, 1626. Almost complete ruin of Gurifalco in the area of S.W. Catanzaro. Large damage in Catanzaro, intensity 10.5. (reference #1093)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1055 Milne, John (1911). Catalogue of Destructive Earthquakes [7 to 1899 A.D.], Report of the 81st Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Portsmouth, London, United Kingdom, p. 649-740.
- #1075 Giorgetti, F. and E. Iaccarino (1971). Italian Earthquake Catalogue from the Beginning of the Christian Age up to 1968, Osservatorio Geofisico Sperimentale, Trieste, Italy.
- #521 Mallet, Robert (1853). Catalogue of Recorded Earthquakes from 1606 B.C. to A.D. 1850, Part I, 1606 B.C. to 1755 A.D. Report of the 22nd Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science held at Hull, Sept., 1853, John Murray, London, p. 1-176.
- #1093 Montandon, Frederic (1953). Les Tremblements de Terre Destructeurs en Europe, a L'Union Internationale de Secours, Geneva, Switzerland, 195 p.
- #516 Davidson, C. (1936). Great Earthquakes, Thomas Murty and Co., London, United Kingdom, 286 p.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 28, 1908, Messina, Sicily, Calabria, Italy
- January 9, 1693, Sicily, Calabria, Catania, Italy
- February 5, 1783, Tyrrhenian Calabria, Italy
- September 16, 1857, Calabria,montemurro, Italy
- December 16, 1857, Campania, Potenza, Italy
- March 27, 1638, Cosenza,martirano, Nicastro, Calabria, Italy
- July 17, 1361, Basilicata to Pouilles, Italy
- November 5, 1659, Panaija, Soriano, Polia, Italy
- January 1688, Pisticci, Italy
- February 6, 1783, Messina Straits, Italy
- January 21, 1065, Catania,messina,milazzo,pale, Sicily, Italy
- April 24, 1836, Rossano,crosia,craco,basilicata, Italy
- September 8, 1905, Monteleone, Tropea, Monte Poro, Italy
- February 12, 1854, Connici,cosenza,pietrafitta,paterno, Italy
- June 19, 1640, Badolato, Italy
More
Significant earthquakes of 1626The 1600sRecent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 904.