December 23, 1690 Earthquake: Ancona, Italy
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Ancona, Italy on December 23, 1690 at 00:20 UTC. It killed 10 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 23, 1690
- Time
- 00:20 UTC
- Place
- Ancona, Italy
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 43.547° N, 13.592° E
- Country
- Italy
The toll
- Deaths
- 10
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
The severe shock (M=5.6 I=8.0 MCS) was strongly felt in Ancona and it was followed by many other shocks. At Ancona almost all public and private buildings were severely damaged and ten people died; some churches collapsed, as well as the city walls. The villages of Sirolo and Numana were damaged too. The shock caused many cracks in the roads (Guidoboni et al., 2018; [ref #10990]). (reference #11164)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 14, 1703, Central Apennino, Norcia, L'Aquila, Perugia, Italy
- January 13, 1915, Marsica, Avezzano, Abruzzi, Italy
- February 2, 1703, L'Aquila (Aquila), Italy
- December 1, 1328, Norcia, Italy
- December 25, 1352, Sansepolcro, Italy
- September 9, 1349, L'Aquila, Abruzzi, Sannio, Italy
- April 14, 1672, Rimini, Italy
- September 30, 1789, Citta Di Castello,sansepolcro, Italy
- April 6, 2009, L'Aquila, Italy
- August 24, 2016, Accumoli, Arquata, Amatrice, Italy
- May 12, 1730, Norcia, Italy
- August 3, 1414, Sansepolcro, Italy
- October 19, 1768, Santa Sofia, Italy
- June 13, 1542, Scarperia, Italy
- August 22, 1859, Italy
More
Significant earthquakes of 1690The 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 10621.