Ischia earthquake

The day calamity and chaos came to Casamicciola

The remains of a church in Casamicciola that
was largely reduced to rubble by the quake

Around 3,000 people are thought to have been killed and many more injured on this day in 1883 after a devastating earthquake shook the island of Ischia in the Gulf of Naples.

Although the earthquake was officially classified as moderate, it caused extreme ground shaking, which led to the collapse of about 80 per cent of the buildings in the comune of Casamicciola Terme, a resort on the northern side of the island.

Most of the houses, hotels, and churches in the town collapsed. There were more than 1,700 fatalities in Casamicciola alone.

The philosopher Benedetto Croce was on holiday on the island at the time and both his parents and his only sister were killed in the earthquake. He was trapped under the rubble for two nights until he was able to be rescued, and it was discovered that he had a broken leg and arm.

His daughter later said that he suffered nightmares about his experience afterwards and that he never returned to Ischia. 

But many people who were trapped under the wreckage of the buildings were not rescued and eventually died. 

The earthquake occurred at 20.25 local time and had a moment magnitude of between 4.2 and 5.5. Though this was considered moderate, the ground shaking was judged to be extreme on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. It is thought that between 2,313 and 3,100 people died as a result.

The island of Ischia lies within the circular area known as the Phlegraean Fields, a volcanic caldera consisting of 24 craters, most of which are submerged under the Bay of Naples. 

The Grand Hotel des Etrangers was one of the hotels
that suffered catastrophic damage in the earthquake 

The island’s highest point, Monte Epomeo, is a geological horst, a block of volcanic material that has been deposited by eruptions.

Since the middle of the 18th century, there have been records of earthquakes affecting the island. 

In 1762, the architect Luigi Vanvitelli said he had experienced two successive shocks on the island, and in 1796, seven people died and 50 buildings were destroyed, after an earthquake.

In 1828, a violent tremor destroyed buildings in Casamicciola and at least 29 people died, including people who had been attending a church service. An earthquake in 1867 was experienced by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, while he was staying there.

In March 1881, an earthquake caused 127 deaths and the collapse of about 300 buildings there. During the July 1883 quake, structures that had been damaged in 1881 but had not been repaired, collapsed completely.

In 1883, nearly half of the population of Casamicciola were killed and there were also deaths in Lacco Ameno, Forio, Barano d’Ischia, and Serrare Fontana.

Many Romans and Neapolitans were on holiday on the island at the time of the earthquake and a lot were attending a performance at the theatre. Large gaps appeared in the walls of the theatre and some theatregoers were able to escape through them.

People who were able to flee from the devastation made their way to the sea and were taken to Naples by boats to recover, and give an account of what had happened on the island.

Rodolfo Morgari's painting, Episode after
1883 earthquake at Casamicciola

Soldiers were sent to Ischia to dig for survivors but were unable to reach many of the victims, who died before they could be brought out of the wreckage. Steamers were deployed to go back and forth taking injured survivors to hospital in Naples 

Newspapers came out in Rome with black mourning borders on July 30 to mark the event. The King and Queen of Italy - Umberto I and Queen Margherita - and the Pope, Leo XIII, donated money towards a national fund that was started for the relief of the earthquake victims.

As a result of the 1883 Ischia earthquake, the Italian government issued  codes for antiseismic prevention

Even now, Italians will sometimes say: “Faccio una Casamicciola,” which literally means ‘I make a Casamicciola,’ when they are describing a state of calamity, chaos, and helplessness.

According to the American TV host and actor, Jimmy Kimmel, whose mother’s ancestors were from Ischia, only two of them survived the 1883 earthquake, later deciding to emigrate to the United States.

The artist Rodolfo Morgari depicted the aftermath of the 1883 earthquake in a painting entitled, Episode after 1883 earthquake at Casamicciola, which was exhibited in Turin in 1884.

The town and port, Ischia, seen from the top of the
Castello Aragonese, which stands guard over the area

Travel tip:

Ischia is a beautiful island, just  off the coasts of Sorrento and Naples, with many good beaches for holidaymakers. It has an area of some 47 square  kilometres, rising to a height of 789 m (2,589 ft) at the peak of Monte Epomeo. The vineyards surrounding Monte Epomeo produce excellent wine that is served in the island’s restaurants. The hot mineral springs on the island have been used since Roman times as a cure for ailments and are still recommended for people suffering from rheumatism and arthritis today. An entire circuit of the island’s 34km (21 miles) of coastline on one of the local buses will take about two and a half hours. Ischia is also the name of the island’s main town, the other municipalities being Barano d'Ischia, Casamicciola Terme, Forio, Lacco Ameno and Serrara Fontana. Notable sights include the Aragonese Castle (Castello Aragonese), which was built on a rock near the island in 474 BC, by Hiero I of Syracuse. Nowadays, it is connected to the town of Ischia by a stone causeway.

A view across the harbour at Casamicciola, which
stands on the northern coastline of Ischia

Travel tip:

Casamicciola is the oldest spa town on the island of Ischia and is thought to have once been the site of a Greek settlement. It is home to the hottest spring on the island, Terme Rita, which comes out of the ground at 180F and is said to contain large quantities of Iodine. One of the few hotels that remain standing from before the 1883 earthquake is Terme Manzi Hotel and Spa, which was founded in 1860. After the earthquake, the town was rebuilt and the Art Nouveau architecture lining the waterfront promenade dates from the early 20th century. The town continues to suffer sporadic earth movements linked to activity in the Phlegraean Fields caldera. As recently as August, 2017, it was hit by a 4.3 magnitude earthquake, resulting in the deaths of two people. Casamicciola has a pretty port and marina, which is often populated by expensive yachts. It is also an arrival and departure point for hydrofoils and ferries to and from Naples on the mainland. 

Also on this day:

1883: The birth of industrialist Vittorio Valletta 

1924: The birth of racing driver Luigi Musso

1941: The birth of conductor Riccardo Muti

1943: San Marino’s liberation from Fascism

Home

27 July

Giosuè Carducci – poet and Nobel Prize winner

Writer used his poetry as a vehicle for his political views 

Giosuè Carducci, the first Italian to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, was born on this day in 1835 in Tuscany.  Christened Giosuè Alessandro Giuseppe Carducci, he lived with his parents in the small village of Valdicastello in the province of Lucca.  His father, a doctor, was an advocate of the unification of Italy and was involved with the Carbonari, a network of secret revolutionary groups. Because of his politics, the family was forced to move several times during Carducci’s childhood, eventually settling in Florence.  During his time in college, Carducci became fascinated with the restrained style of Greek and Roman literature and his work as an adult often used the classical meters of such Latin poets as Horace and Virgil. He published his first collection of poems, Rime, in 1857.  He married Elvira Menicucci in 1859 and they had four children.  Read more…

_____________________________________

Mauro Giuliani – virtuoso guitarist

Maestro who perfected his technique so that his instrument seemed to sing

Leading 19th century guitarist and composer Mauro Giuliani was born on this day in 1781 in Bisceglie, a small town on the Adriatic coast near Bari in Puglia.  Growing up to become an accomplished cellist, singer and composer, Giuliani toured Europe playing in concerts and he became a musical celebrity while he was living in Vienna. He was  invited to play in chamber concerts in the botanical gardens of Schönbrunn Palace - the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers - with other top musicians.  Giuliani moved to live in Barletta, also on the Adriatic coast when he was very young, where he learnt to play the cello, an instrument he never completely abandoned. But he began to devote himself to learning the six-string guitar, becoming a skilled performer on it very quickly.  Giuliani learnt the classical instrumental style in Vienna. Read more…

______________________________________

Adolfo Celi – actor and director

Successful career of a Sicilian who was typecast as a baddy

An actor who specialised in playing the role of the villain in films, Adolfo Celi was born on this day in 1922 in Curcuraci, in the province of Messina in Sicily.  Celi was already prominent in Italian cinema, but became internationally famous for his portrayal of Emilio Largo, James Bond’s adversary with the eye patch, in the 1965 film Thunderball.  He made his film debut after World War Two in A Yank in Rome (Un americano in vacanza), in 1946.  In the 1950s he moved to Brazil, where he co-founded the Teatro Brasiliero de Comedia.  He was successful as a stage actor in Brazil and Argentina. Celi’s big break came when he played the villain in Philippe de Broca’s That Man from Rio. He was cast as the camp commandant in the escape drama, Von Ryan’s Express, in which Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard played prisoners of war.  Read more…

Peppino di Capri – singer and songwriter

Performer ushered Italy into the rock ‘n roll era

Pop legend Peppino di Capri was born Giuseppe Faiella on this day in 1939 on the island of Capri in southern Italy.  A hugely successful singer, songwriter and pianist in Italy and throughout Europe, Di Capri, affectionately known as the Italian Buddy Holly, had many international hits.  He began singing and playing the piano at the age of four, following in his father’s footsteps, and he provided entertainment for American troops stationed on Capri. His father owned a record shop and also sold musical instruments.  Di Capri studied classical music for five years until he discovered rock music in the 1950s. He recorded his first album in 1958 with his band, The Rockers, and had instant success.  For the next few years, Di Capri recorded some of his biggest hits, such as Voce e Notte, Luna Caprese, Let’s Twist Again and Roberta.  Read more…

_____________________________________

Mario Del Monaco - tenor

Singer became famous for his interpretations of Otello

Opera singer Mario Del Monaco, who was renowned for the amazing power of his voice, was born on this day in 1915 in Florence.  His family were musical and as a child he studied the violin but he developed a passion for singing as well.  He studied at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, where he first met and sang with the soprano Renata Tebaldi, who was to partner him regularly later in his career.  Del Monaco made a big impact with his debut performance as Lieutenant Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly in Milan in 1940.  He became popular with the audience at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in the 1950s, making many appearances in dramatic Verdi roles.  He was one of the four Italian tenors at their peak in the 1950s and 1960s, sharing the limelight with Giuseppe Di Stefano, Carlo Bergonzi and Franco Corelli.   Read more…

______________________________________

Book of the Day: Poems of Giosuè Carducci, by Giosuè Carducci. Translated by Frank Sewall

Explore the powerful verse of Giosuè Carducci in Poems of Giosuè Carducci, a collection presenting a selection of his most impactful Italian poetry in translation.  Two introductory essays illuminate Carducci's significance within the landscape of Italian literature. The first essay explores "Giosuè Carducci and the Hellenic reaction in Italy," examining the classical influences shaping his verse. The second essay, "Carducci and the classic realism," delves into the realistic elements interwoven with his poetic vision.  This book is essential for anyone interested in Italian poetry, literary criticism, and the intellectual currents of the 19th century. Discover the enduring legacy of Carducci, a pivotal figure whose work continues to resonate with readers and scholars alike. A valuable resource for understanding Carducci's contribution to European literature and his place within the traditions of poetry. This is a reprint of a book first published in 1892, now in the public domain.

Giosuè Carducci was an Italian poet, writer, literary critic and teacher. He was regarded as the official national poet of modern Italy and the first Italian to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.  

Buy from Amazon

Home

26 July

Francesco Cossiga - Italy's 8th President

Political career overshadowed by Moro murder

Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga was born on this day in 1928 in the Sardinian city of Sassari.  Cossiga, a Christian Democrat who had briefly served as Prime Minister under his predecessor, Sandro Pertini, held the office for seven years from 1985 to 1992. His presidency was overshadowed by the murder of former prime minister, Aldo Moro, and it was during his time in office that another Italian political heavyweight, Giulio Andreotti, revealed the existence during the Cold War years of Gladio, a clandestine network sponsored by the American secret services and NATO that was set up amid fears that Italy would fall into the hands of Communists, either through military invasion or via the ballot box.  Cossiga, said to have been obsessed with espionage, admitted to having been involved with the creation of Gladio in the years immediately following the end of the Second World War.  Read more…

__________________________________

Constantino Brumidi - painter

Rome-born artist responsible for murals in US Capitol Building

Constantino Brumidi, an artist whose work provides the backcloth to the daily business of government in the United States Capitol Building in Washington, was born on this day in 1805 in Rome.  Brumidi’s major work is the allegorical fresco The Apotheosis of Washington, painted in 1865, which covers the interior of the dome in the Rotunda.  Encircling the base of the dome, below the windows, is the Frieze of American History, in which Brumidi painted scenes depicting significant events of American history, although the second half of the work had to be completed by another painter, Filippo Costaggini, after Brumidi died in 1880.  Previously, between 1855 and about 1870, Brumidi had decorated the walls of eight important rooms in the Capitol Building, including the Hall of the House of Representatives, the Senate Library and the President’s Room.  Read more… 

_____________________________________

Pope Paul II

Flamboyant pope who helped make books available to ordinary people

Pietro Barbo, who became Pope Paul II, died on this day in 1471 in Rome at the age of 54.  He is remembered for dressing up in sumptuous, ecclesiastical finery and having a papal tiara made for himself, which was studded with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, topaz, large pearls and many other precious gems.  Barbo was born in Venice and was a nephew of Pope Eugenius IV through his mother and a member of the noble Barbo family through his father.  He adopted a spiritual career after his uncle was elected as pope and made rapid progress. He became a cardinal in 1440 and promised that if he was elected pope one day he would buy each cardinal a villa to escape the summer heat. It was reported that Pope Pius II suggested he should have been called Maria Pietissima (Our Lady of Pity) as he would use tears to help him obtain things he wanted.  Read more…

____________________________________

Book of the Day: Operation Gladio: The Unholy Alliance between the Vatican, the CIA, and the Mafia, by Paul L Williams

Operation Gladio describes the secret alliance forged at the close of World War II between the CIA, the Sicilian and US mafias, and the Vatican to thwart the possibility of a communist invasion of Europe. Williams presents evidence suggesting the existence of "stay-behind" units in many European countries consisting of 5,000 to 15,000 military operatives. The author's research suggested that the initial funding for these guerilla armies came from the sale of large stocks of SS morphine that had been smuggled out of Germany and Italy and of bogus British bank notes produced in concentration camps by skilled counterfeiters. As the Cold War intensified, the units were used not only to ward off possible invaders, but also to thwart the rise of left-wing movements in South America and NATO-based countries by terror attacks.  Williams argues that Operation Gladio was linked to the toppling of governments, wholesale genocide, the formation of death squads, financial scandals on a grand scale, the creation of the mujahideen, an international narcotics network, and the ascendancy of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a cleric with strong ties to Operation Condor (an offshoot of Gladio in Argentina) as Pope Francis I.

Paul L Williams, PhD, is a journalist and the author of Crescent Moon Rising, The Day of Islam, Osama's Revenge, The Al Qaeda Connection and The Vatican Exposed, among other books. He has won three Keystone Press Awards for journalism.

Buy from Amazon

Home

25 July

NEW - Mussolini removed from power

Dictator ousted and placed under arrest

The Fascist regime that had ruled Italy for 21 years was ousted on this day in 1943 when Benito Mussolini was arrested by King Victor Emmanuel III, hours after a meeting of the Grand Council of Fascism at the Palazzo Venezia in Rome had passed a vote of no confidence in their leader.  With most Italians desperate to see an end to their country’s participation in a world war in which defeat now looked certain, the Grand Council had been asked to vote on a motion proposed by Count Dino Grandi, a former Blackshirt who had become increasingly disillusioned with the self-styled Duce’s decision-making.  The motion, which Grandi prefaced by launching a scathing attack on his former ally’s leadership, was that the king would be asked to resume his full constitutional authority, effectively removing Mussolini from office.  Read more…

_____________________________________

Alfredo Casella – composer

Musician credited with reviving popularity of Vivaldi

Pianist and conductor Alfredo Casella, a prolific composer of early 20th century neoclassical music, was born on this day in 1883 in Turin.  Casella is credited as being the person responsible for the resurrection of Antonio Vivaldi’s work, following a 'Vivaldi Week' that he organised in 1939.  Casella was born into a musical family. His grandfather had been first cello in the San Carlo Theatre in Lisbon and he later became a soloist at the Royal Chapel in Turin.  His father, Carlo, and his brothers, Cesare and Gioacchino, were professional cellists. His mother, Maria, was a pianist and she gave the young Alfredo his first piano lessons. Their home was in Via Cavour, where it is marked with a plaque.  Casella entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1896 to study piano under Louis Diemer and to study composition under Gabriel Fauré.  Read more… 

_____________________________________

Carlo Bergonzi – operatic tenor

Singer whose style was called the epitome of Italian vocal art

Carlo Bergonzi, one of the great Italian opera singers of the 20th century, died on this day in 2014 in Milan.  He specialised in singing roles from the operas of Giuseppe Verdi, helping to revive some of the composer’s lesser-known works.  Between the 1950s and 1980s he sang more than 300 times with the Metropolitan Opera of New York and the New York Times, in its obituary, described his voice as ‘an instrument of velvety beauty and nearly unrivalled subtlety’.  Bergonzi was born in Polesine Parmense near Parma in Emilia-Romagna in 1924. He claimed to have seen his first opera, Verdi’s Il trovatore, at the age of six.  He sang in his local church and soon began to appear in children’s roles in operas in Busseto, a town near where he lived.  He left school at the age of 11 and started to work in the same cheese factory as his father in Parma.  Read more… 

Agostino Steffani – composer

Baroque musician and cleric who features in modern literature

A priest and diplomat as well as a singer and composer, Agostino Steffani was born on this day in 1654 in Castelfranco Veneto near Venice.  Details of his life and works have recently been brought to the attention of readers of contemporary crime novels because they were used by the American novelist, Donna Leon, as background for her 2012 mystery The Jewels of Paradise.  Steffani was admitted as a chorister at St Mark’s Basilica in Venice while he was still young and in 1667 the beauty of his voice attracted the attention of Count Georg Ignaz von Tattenbach, who took him to Munich.  Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria, paid for Steffani’s education and granted him a salary, in return for his singing.  In 1673 Steffani was sent to study in Rome, where he composed six motets. The original manuscripts for these are now in a museum in Cambridge.  Read more… 

_____________________________________

Battle of Molinella

First time artillery played a major part in warfare

An important battle was fought on this day in 1467 at Molinella, near Bologna.  On one side were infantry and cavalry representing Venice and on the other side there was an army serving Florence.  It was the first battle in Italy in which artillery and firearms were used extensively, the main weapons being cannons fired by gunpowder that could launch heavy stone or metal balls.  The barrels were 10 to 12 feet in length and had to be cleaned following each discharge. Leading the 14,000 soldiers fighting for Venice was the Bergamo condottiero Bartolomeo Colleoni. He was working jointly with Ercole I d’Este from Ferrara and noblemen from Pesaro and Forlì. Another condottiero, Federico da Montefeltro, led the army of 13,000 soldiers serving Florence in an alliance with King Ferdinand II of Aragon and the rulers of Milan and  of Bologna.  Read more…

______________________________________

Book of the Day: The Fall of Mussolini: Italy, the Italians, and the Second World War, by Philip Morgan

In this powerful history, Philip Morgan tells the dramatic story of Mussolini's fall from power in July 1943, illuminating both the causes and the consequences of this momentous event. Morgan recounts how King Victor Emmanuel first ousted Mussolini and how Germany then succeeded in putting him back in place, this time as a puppet of the Nazis. The resulting chaos included fighting by anti-Fascist rebel groups and mini civil wars throughout the country. The Fall of Mussolini shines light on how ordinary people responded to and coped with wartime living and with the invasion, occupation, and division of their country by warring foreign powers. Morgan includes vivid eye-witness reports from people who hid Jews, fought in the resistance, and killed collaborators. The book debunks the myths that arose after the war, which depicted the nation as almost entirely anti-Fascist, with the heroes of the resistance movement fighting to rid their country first of Mussolini, then of their German occupiers. In truth, the situation surrounding Mussolini's removal from power, return to power, and eventual execution was far more complicated. 

Philip Morgan is Senior Lecturer in Contemporary European History at the University of Hull. His other publications include Italian Fascism, 1919-1945 and Fascism in Europe, 1919-1945.

Buy from Amazon

Home