July 30, 1626 Earthquake: Napoli (Naples), Italy
An earthquake struck Napoli (Naples), Italy on July 30, 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
- July 30, 1626
- Place
- Napoli (Naples), Italy
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 40.400° N, 14.100° E
- Country
- Italy
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
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.
These accounts are probably describing the earthquake on July 30, 1627.
July 30, 1626, noon. In the provinces of the Capitananta and La Puglia, and in the city of Naples. Also extended as far as Ragusa and Smyrna. The shocks lasted five hours. The places most injured lay in a line running N. and S. from the eastern side of the Apennines at Bovino to the Adriatic Sea, at the mouth of the river Fortore. The shocks continued at intervals up to the 7th August. At Fortore and San Nicandro the sea retired more than two miles from the coast, and then returned again, inundating the country. Thirty towns and villages are mentioned as having been ruined more less by this earthquake and 17,000 persons lost their lives. Clefts opened in the ground, lakes were dried up, mountains cleft, forests overthrown, and jets of water and mud thrown out of the wells. The shocks were accompanied by subterranean noises and a smell of sulphur. Hoff, Huot and Gaultier give the date 1627. (reference #521)
July 30, 1626. In Naples; 30 towns or villages
ruined; 70,000 live lost. (reference #1073)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 5, 1456, Avellino,napoli,abruzzi, Brindisi,benevento, Italy
- January 13, 1915, Marsica, Avezzano, Abruzzi, Italy
- December 16, 1857, Campania, Potenza, Italy
- 1248, Sabaudia, Italy
- July 26, 1805, Molise, Rosolone, Napoli (Naples), Isernia, Italy
- July 30, 1627, Lesina, Italy
- November 23, 1980, Avellino, Potenza, Caserta, Naples, Italy
- September 8, 1694, Calitri, Italy
- December 16, 1631, Naples (Napoli), Italy
- July 17, 1361, Basilicata to Pouilles, Italy
- March 20, 1731, Foggia, Italy
- June 5, 1688, Benevento, Italy
- July 28, 1883, Casamicciola, Forino, Lacco Ameno, Ischia Is, Italy
- August 24, 79, Naples (Napoli), Italy
- November 29, 1732, Ariano, Lucanie, Avellino, 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 907.