Irpinia earthquake

A day that saw whole towns reduced to rubble in southern Italy

Aerial pictures show the remains of 
the village of Castelnuovo di Conza

An earthquake that has been described as ‘the worst catastrophe in the history of the Italian republic’ shook Campania and parts of Basilicata and Puglia on this day in 1980.

The earthquake, which takes its name from the geographical area of Campania known as Irpinia, had a moment magnitude of 6.9 and left 2,483 people dead, about 7,700 injured, and more than 250,000 homeless. The first shock lasted for a little more than a minute, but it was to change the lives forever of the residents in the worst hit towns and villages in the region.

The earthquake struck at 18:34 local time and after 70 seconds of shaking there were many aftershocks. Waves from it were felt as far away as Sicily and the Po Valley.

The village of Castelnuovo di Conza, in the province of Salerno, was at the centre of the blast and was virtually destroyed. Of the 1500 inhabitants, about 500 died or were injured after being trapped in the rubble of their homes, including both local policemen. About 80 per cent of the buildings were either destroyed, or partially collapsed, leaving many people homeless.

It was left to the local children and old people to dig for any survivors and the Mayor of the village later said they had been forced to wait for three days for help to arrive from outside the area. 

In nearby Sant’Angelo dei Lombardi, in the province of Avellino, 300 people were killed, including 27 children in an orphanage. Many historical buildings were left in ruins and some of them were never rebuilt. 

Scenes of devastation were witnessed in many
towns and villages across the Irpinia area

In Naples, a ten-storey apartment building collapsed as a result of the tremor. Many buildings suffered extensive structural damage and had to be propped up to make them safe afterwards, leading to years of disruption to the lives of the people living there.

In Balvano in the province of Potenza in Basilicata, 100 people were killed when a mediaeval church collapsed during a service. Many of them were children and teenagers and the disaster effectively wiped out an entire generation of the local people.

The University of Basilicata was later built in Potenza on a site that had been flattened by the earthquake. It was seen as an attempt to persuade young people to stay in the area rather than moving north or emigrating to another country.  

Many landslides were triggered and rail traffic throughout Italy came to a complete standstill. The terrible situation was made worse by people trying to leave the affected areas in such large numbers that the roads became blocked.

On November 26, Italian president Sandro Pertini addressed the nation in a televised broadcast. He condemned the delays in rescuing people from the ruins after the earthquake and the failures that had been revealed in state intervention in the worst affected areas.

President Sandro Pertini, second 
left, on a visit to the affected zone

As a result, Extraordinary Commissioner Giuseppe Zamberletti was appointed to coordinate rescue efforts and to communicate with the local mayors. In 1982, Zamberletti was appointed Minister for Civil Protection Co-ordination and a few months later the Department of Civil Protection was established in Italy.

When the 40th anniversary of the earthquake disaster was commemorated in Italy in 2020, some of the reconstruction work in the worst affected areas had still not been finished.

Although the Italian Government were said to have spent 59 trillion lire, and West Germany sent 32 million dollars and the US 70 million dollars to help, it is believed subsequently that some of the funds were misappropriated by Italian politicians and by the Camorra, who subsequently became involved in the construction industry.

On average, a significant earthquake happens every four years in Italy. The most recent was an earthquake of 5.1 moment magnitude in 2023 in Tuscany, when one person died and there was severe damage in some areas.

In 1976, more than 900 people died after an earthquake of 6.5 moment magnitude in Friuli, and in 1857, 10,000 people died after an earthquake of 7.0 moment magnitude in Basilicata.

If the Irpinia earthquake is the worst since the Republic of Italy was established in 1946, the most devastating in Italy’s history, at least in terms of reliable estimates of deaths, occurred in 1908 with its epicentre below the Straits of Messina. It caused catastrophic damage to the cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria with at least 75,000 and perhaps as many as 200,000 killed, the larger figure based on comparison of census data collected before and after the disaster.

The Benedictine Abbey of San Guglielmo
al Goleto is just outside Sant'Angelo

Travel tip:

Sant’ Angelo dei Lombardi is a town in the province of Avellino in Campania. It is situated on a hilltop and has a cathedral and a Lombard castle. The Benedictine Abbey of San Guglielmo al Goleto is nearby. A famous former resident of the town is the Italian-American actor and businessman Charles A Gargano, who was born in the town in 1934. He was the US Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H W Bush. After the earthquake the Lombard castle was restored to its original mediaeval structure and is today home to an archive and museum.

Avellino's duomo, the Cattedrale
di Santa Maria Assunta

Travel tip:

The town of Avellino is the capital of the province of Avellino and an important centre on the road from Salerno to Benevento in Campania. It has its origins in the ancient Roman settlement, Abellinum, although the present town was founded by the Lombards and ruled at different times by the Byzantines, Normans, Swabians, Angevin, Aragonese, the Viceroy of Spain, the Austrians and the Bourbons. The 1980 Irpinia earthquake represented a turning point for the town and province because afterwards money flowed in for investment in the infrastructure. There are now many businesses in the area, such as FMA, who produce Fiat engines for car manufacturers. But the production of tobacco, wine and hazelnuts is still important to the local economy. Avellino has a cathedral, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, that was built in the 12th century with a neoclassical facade added in 1891.

Also on this day:

1553: The birth of botanist Prospero Alpini

1921: The birth of singer and actor Fred Buscaglione

1941: The birth of actor Franco Nero

1955: The birth of composer Ludovico Einaudi

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Salvatore Ferragamo - shoe designer

From humble beginnings to giant of the fashion industry

Shoes by Salvatore Ferragamo

Salvatore Ferragamo, the craftsman once dubbed 'Shoemaker to the Stars' after his success in creating made-to-measure footwear for movie stars and celebrities, was born on this day in 1898 in Bonito, a small hill town in Campania, in the province of Avellino.

Although in time he would become a prominent figure in the fashion world of Florence, Ferragamo learned how to make shoes in Naples, around 100 kilometres from his home village.  He was apprenticed to a Neapolitan shoemaker at the age of just 11 years and opened his first shop, trading from his parents' house, at 13.

When he was 16 he made the bold decision to move to the United States, joining one of his brothers in Boston, where they both worked in a factory manufacturing cowboy boots.  Salvatore was impressed at how modern production methods enabled the factory to turn out large numbers of boots but was concerned about compromises to quality.

This led him to move to California and to set up shop selling his own hand-made shoes in Santa Barbara, where he made his first contacts in the burgeoning American film industry.  Eager to make shoes that not only looked good but were comfortable to wear, he enrolled at the University of Southern California to study anatomy.

He moved to Hollywood when the movie makers relocated there and it was after opening the Hollywood Boot Shop that he acquired the label 'shoemaker to the stars'.

The famous Ferragamo logo

In 1927, after 13 years in the United States, Ferragamo returned to Italy to base his business in Florence, a city with a wealth of skilled craftsmen. He opened a workshop in the Via Mannelli and was soon making shoes for some of the wealthiest women in the world.

The collapse of the US stock market in 1929, sparking the Great Depression, hit him hard, virtually destroying the export side of his business, and he filed for bankruptcy in 1933.  Yet such was his enterprise and appetite for work that, by concentrating on the domestic market, he was able to make a rapid recovery.

In 1936 he rented two workshops and opened a shop in Palazzo Spini Feroni in Via de' Tornabuoni, which he subsequently bought and which remains the company's headquarters.

By the 1950s, as Italy recovered from wartime austerity and embraced la dolce vita, Ferragamo was the shoe of choice for wealthy young socialites in Italy and beyond and the company workshops were employing 700 craftsmen turning out up to 350 pairs of shoes per day.

The Rainbow platform sandal Ferragamo crafted for the
 actress and singer Judy Garland

Among Salvatore's creations were stiletto heels with metal reinforcement made famous by Marilyn Monroe, and a platform sandal he made for Judy Garland, which he called The Rainbow as a tribute to the actress and singer's performance in the Wizard of Oz. His 'invisible' sandal, which featured almost transparent nylon thread uppers, won the Neiman Marcus Award in 1947, the first time the prestigious mark of recognition in the fashion world was given to a shoe designer.

In 1940 Salvatore had married the daughter of the local doctor in Bonito, Wanda Miletti, who joined him in Florence. They had six children: three sons - Ferruccio, Leonardo and Massimo - and three daughters - Fiamma, Giovanna and Fulvia.

Salvatore died in 1960 aged just 62, leaving the company to be run by the family, with Wanda initially in charge.  Nowadays, Ferruccio is the president of a business employing more than 4000 people with 550 stores in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

It now has a range of products that includes eyewear, perfume, belts, scarves, bags, watches and clothing, as well as shoes.

Travel tip:

Bonito, perched on top of a hill between the valleys of the Arvi and Calore rivers, is roughly equidistant between Benevento and Avellino in inland Campania.  The Church of the Assunta contains the tomb of Santa Crescenzo, an 11-year-old boy killed during the persecution by the Roman Emperor Diocletianus in the third century and subsequently celebrated as a martyr.

The entrance to the Ferragamo museum at
the Palazzo Spini Feroni

Travel tip:

A museum dedicated to the life and work of Salvatore Ferragamo was opened in 1996 within the company's headquarters at the historic Palazzo Spini Feroni in Via de' Tornabouni, Florence's famed upmarket shopping street.  The museum has films, press cuttings, advertising posters, clothing and accessories and a staggering 10,000 shoes created by Salvatore himself or the skilled craftsmen he employed.

(Photo of Ferragamo shoes by Ben CC BY-SA 2.0)
(Photo of Judy Garland shoe by Sailko CC BY-SA 3.0)

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From Rome to the North Pole

Aeronautical history launched from Ciampino airport

Umberto Nobile

On this day in 1926, an airship took off from Ciampino airport in Rome on the first leg of what would be an historic journey culminating in the first flight over the North Pole.

The expedition was the brainchild of the Norwegian polar explorer and expedition leader Roald Amundsen, but the pilot was the airship's designer, aeronautical engineer Umberto Nobile, who had an Italian crew.

They were joined in the project by millionaire American explorer Lincoln Ellsworth who, along with the Aero Club of Norway, financed the trip which was known as the Amundsen-Ellsworth 1926 Transpolar Flight.

Nobile - born in Lauro, near Avellino in Campania - designed the 160metres long craft on behalf of the Italian State Airship factory, who sold it to Ellsworth for $75,000.  Amundsen named the airship Norge, which means Norway in his native tongue.

The first leg of the flight north was due to have left Rome on 6 April but was delayed due to strong winds until the 10th.  The first stop-off point was at the Pulham Airship Station in England, from where it took off again for Oslo on 12 April. Three days later Nobile, Amundsen, Ellsworth and the crew flew on to Gatchina, near Leningrad, the journey taking 17 hours because of dense fog.

The movement of airships depended on the construction of sheds and mooring masts and delays in erecting masts, plus further bad weather, put back the team's departure from Gatchina to Kings Bay, Spitsbergen, which would be the final stop before the attempt to fly over the Pole.

In the meantime, a rival expedition led by the American explorer Richard E Byrd arrived.  His three-engined Fokker aeroplane took off from Spitsbergen on 9 May and returned 16 hours later, Byrd and co-pilot Floyd Bennett claiming to have overflown the Pole.

Umberto Nobile's airship Norge

Amundsen is said to have congratulated Byrd on beating him to the honour of being first but he and his colleagues decided to press on with their flight anyway, crossing the Pole on 11 May and going on to land in Alaska.  It was just as well they did.  Some years later, suspicions raised by the navigational data in Byrd's flight diary led to an admission from Bennett that their claim was fraudulent.

After a dispute with Amundsen over who should take the most credit for the mission's success, Nobile mounted a polar expedition of his own two years later but this one ended in disaster when his Italia airship, having successfully overflown the Pole, crashed into the ice on the way back to Kings Bay. Eight members of the 17-man crew were lost, two confirmed dead and six others presumed to have died, trapped on board the stricken Italia as it was swept away in high winds.

In a further tragic twist, Amundsen was killed during the rescue mission, having put aside his differences with Nobile to board a seaplane bound for Spitsbergen, only for the aircraft to crash en route.

Nobile eventually returned to Rome to a hero's welcome but an official enquiry accused him of abandoning his crew after the crash. He resigned from the Italian Air Force, in which he has risen to the rank of Major General. It took him 17 years to clear his name.

Having lived in the Soviet Union and then the United States, where he taught aeronautics at a university in Illinois, Nobile went back to Italy in 1942 and ultimately returned to the University of Naples, where he had been a student, to teach and write.  After the war, he ran for parliament as a member of the Italian Communist Party.

Nobile died in Rome on 30 July 1978 aged 93 after having celebrated the 50th anniversary of his two polar expeditions.

Travel tip:

Visitors to Rome can see a permanent exhibition celebrating Nobile's achievements at the Italian Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle, about 45 kilometres north-west of the capital on the shores of Lago di Bracciano, where it occupies what used to be a seaplane station on the lake.  The museum is open every day except Mondays from 9am to 5.30pm in the summer months, 9am to 4.30pm in the winter.

The cathedral at Avellino
(Photo: Daniel Junger CC BY-SA 3.0)

Travel tip:

Avellino, which is situated about 42 kilometres north-east of Naples on a plain surrounded by mountains, has suffered more than its fair share of damage from earthquakes throughout its history and was also bombed during World War Two.  Avellino's cathedral, built in 1580, sits on the site of a Roman villa dating back to 129BC.  The Fountain of Bellerophon, built in the 17th century, is worth a look.

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