Sicily Earthquake of 1693: Val di Noto and Its Baroque Rebuilding

The Sicily earthquake of 1693 struck the south-east of the island on 9 and 11 January 1693, destroying Catania, Noto, Ragusa and dozens of other towns in the Val di Noto. Generally considered the strongest earthquake in Italy’s recorded history, it killed around 60,000 people. The rebuilding that followed produced some of Europe’s finest late Baroque towns.

Background

At the end of the 17th century Sicily was part of the Spanish monarchy, governed by a viceroy in Palermo. The island was divided into three administrative valleys; the Val di Noto covered the south-east, including the port city of Catania beneath Mount Etna, Syracuse and many hill towns.

The region lies close to the boundary between the African and Eurasian plates and had suffered destructive earthquakes before. Only 24 years earlier, in 1669, a great eruption of Etna had sent lava into the western part of Catania.

The earthquakes

The first strong shock came on the evening of 9 January 1693. It damaged many towns, including Noto and Augusta, and killed some people. Two days later, on 11 January, the main earthquake struck in the afternoon. Its magnitude is estimated from historical damage at about 7.3 to 7.4.

Destruction was enormous across an area of thousands of square kilometres. Historical sources list around 45 to 70 towns and villages as damaged or destroyed. Catania was largely levelled, with the cathedral collapsing on people gathered inside. In Augusta a powder magazine exploded. A tsunami struck the Ionian coast, flooding low-lying parts of Catania and Augusta.

Aftershocks continued for months, keeping survivors in tents and huts outside the ruins. Food shortages, disease and looting added to the suffering in the weeks that followed. Many towns lost a third or more of their inhabitants, and some, such as Noto and Occhiolà, near modern Grammichele, were so completely ruined that they were never rebuilt on their old sites.

Scientists today believe the earthquake was caused by movement on a fault system off the east coast of Sicily, possibly connected with the Hyblean-Maltese escarpment, though the exact source is still debated.

Relief and rebuilding

The viceroy, the Duke of Uceda, appointed Giuseppe Lanza, Duke of Camastra, as vicar general for the stricken area. Camastra organised relief and set guidelines for reconstruction, working with local nobles, the Church and military engineers.

Some towns were rebuilt on their old sites, others moved. Noto was refounded on a new, gentler slope about 8 kilometres from the ruined hilltop town, now known as Noto Antica. Ragusa split in two: part of the population rebuilt the old town, Ragusa Ibla, while others founded a new upper town on a nearby ridge. Catania was rebuilt in place but with wide, straight streets and open squares designed partly to provide refuges in future earthquakes.

Reconstruction lasted most of the 18th century. Architects such as Rosario Gagliardi, who designed the church of San Giorgio in Ragusa Ibla and worked in Noto, and Giovanni Battista Vaccarini in Catania created a lively late Baroque style, with curving facades, grand staircases and golden local limestone. Lava stone gave Catania’s buildings their dark tones.

New towns such as Grammichele, built on a hexagonal plan to replace Occhiolà, show how the disaster encouraged experiments in town planning. Wider streets and lower buildings were meant to reduce future casualties, though building rules were not always followed.

Timeline

• 1669: A major eruption of Etna damages Catania.
• 1693, 9 January: A strong foreshock damages towns in south-eastern Sicily.
• 1693, 11 January: The main earthquake and tsunami devastate the Val di Noto.
• 1693–1694: The Duke of Camastra directs relief and plans reconstruction.
• 18th century: Gagliardi, Vaccarini and others rebuild churches and palaces.
• 1996, 13 March: The dome of Noto Cathedral collapses; the rebuilt cathedral reopens in 2007.
• 2002: UNESCO lists the Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto.

Legacy

In 2002 UNESCO inscribed eight of the rebuilt towns as a World Heritage Site: Caltagirone, Militello in Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa and Scicli. UNESCO describes them as a remarkable example of late Baroque town planning and art.

Earthquakes have continued to affect the region, notably the Messina earthquake of 1908 further north. In 1996 the dome of Noto Cathedral collapsed because of long-term structural weakness; it was rebuilt and reopened in 2007. The 1693 disaster also belongs to a series of great early modern earthquakes, alongside the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and the Calabrian earthquakes of 1783, that shaped how Europeans thought about natural disasters and rebuilding.

Why it matters

The 1693 earthquake was one of the deadliest natural disasters in Sicily’s history and transformed the landscape of the south-east. Out of the destruction came a unified Baroque townscape that is now among the most admired in Europe.