ASMI Archivio Storico Macrosismico ItalianoItalian Archive of Historical Earthquake Data

The eastern Alps earthquake of 25 January 1348 is one of the few powerful earthquakes located in central Europe, and it is also one of the better-known European earthquakes of the Middle Ages. Its many studies, by different researchers, rely on almost the same collection of historical data, but set out different earthquake scenarios, from which various epicentres and seismic sources are derived. We tried to find a common solution by focusing on the main sources available on the most damaged areas, trying to accurately identify as many earthquake-affected localities as possible, and re-considering all data homogeneously and transparently, in order to allow fruitful criticism and facilitate the work of future researchers. Our study increases the number of earthquake-affected localities, checks the effects in Carniola and confirms the epicentral location proposed recently and included in the latest Italian earthquake catalogue, i.e. in the Camporosso saddle, next to the border with Carinthia and Carniola.

The Catalogue lists earthquakes that occurred in Italy between 461 B.C. and 1997, and earthquakes that occurred in the general Mediterranean area between the VIII century b.C. and the XV century. This version (CFTI5Med) features: the retrieval and formatting of over 23,000 original bibliographic documents, transcribed or printed, nearly 50% of those utilized in the CFTI5Med. These documents are now available on-line as fully searchable pdf files; a full geological reinterpretation, georeferencing and reprocessing of over 2,300 descriptions of earthquake-induced environmental effects, which are now all available and searchable in a user-friendly web-GIS environment; the elaboration of a number of texts and commentaries that were missing from the CFTI4Med version of the catalogue; a totally re-designed and more efficient web- and web-GIS interface. The new Catalogo dei Forti Terremoti in ltalia includes 1,259 earthquakes that occurred in Italy (98 of which are currently considered false). No commentaries on the main earthquake effects were available in the previous version of the catalogue for 87 of such events as they had not been updated with respect to the information supplied in Guidoboni e Comastri (2005) for the 1000 AD-1500 AD time interval. The commentaries concerning the most significant effects of Italian medieval earthquakes have now been elaborated and are available along with the information on more recent events. For the remainder of the earthquakes first presented with the CFTI4Med - those that occurred in the general Mediterranean area away from the Italian coasts - the new catalogue provides only the felt reports and basic epicentral parameters.

Il terremoto del 25 gennaio 1348 è incluso nel catalogo CPTI11 (Rovida et al., 2011) sulla base del lavoro di Guidoboni et al. (2007), che a sua volta fa riferimento a Guidoboni e Comastri (2005). Per il carattere parziale che quest’ultimo studio dichiara di avere (Guidoboni e Comastri, 2005: 433 fig.83b) e per le differenze riscontrabili rispetto a un’altra importante ricerca (Hammerl, 1992; 1994), nell’ambito del progetto HAREIA si è ritenuto opportuno realizzarne una revisione complessiva, di cui queste pagine sono solo una estrema e circoscritta sintesi, che anticipa le conclusioni in corso di elaborazione e pubblicazione.

Year	Mo	Da	Ho	Mi	Ax	Rtm	Np	Imx	Io	Lat	Lon	Mw
1348	01	25			Carinzia	Guidoboni et al., 2007	58	9-10	9-10	46.578	13.541	7.02

Questo terremoto ha meritato l’attenzione di diversi studiosi che l’hanno analizzato da diversi punti di vista (cfr. ad esempio Till, 1907; Borst, 1988; Bauer, 1999; Lenhardt, 2007; Merchel, 2014). In questa sede, sono di particolare importanza le ricerche che hanno provato a definire l’evento dal punto di vista macrosismico. Gli ultimi più importanti lavori di questo genere sono quelli già menzionati di Hammerl (1992; 1994) e di Guidoboni e Comastri (2005). Nonostante queste due ricerche abbiano come base documentale pressoché gli stessi testi, i loro risultati non sempre coincidono e hanno come esito scenari macrosismici e parametri epicentrali diversi(www.emidius.eu/AHEAD/main/). Il presente lavoro ha quindi lo scopo di spiegare le ragioni di quelle discrepanze e di provare a fare un passo in più nella comprensione di questo fondamentale evento della storia sismica delle Alpi Orientali, nonché della sismicità europea medievale.

Una delle prime e immediate direzioni di ricerca è la revisione critica dei toponimi menzionati nelle fonti (Guidoboni e Comastri 2005: 407). Si tratta di una questione non nuova per gli studiosi della toponomastica storica: i luoghi cambiano nome lungo i secoli, sono chiamati in modi diversi nelle diverse lingue e vengono modificati o distorti nelle traduzioni, nel passaggio dalla parola orale a quella scritta, nella copiatura dei documenti, ecc. Queste condizioni si presentano particolarmente critiche nel caso del terremoto in questione, avvenuto in una zona di confine tra le aree culturali tedesca, slava e italiana, con popolazioni sottomesse a diverse entità politiche e amministrative, e con fonti scritte in italiano, latino e tedesco medievale.

Il confronto tra questi studi ci permette di capire che le discordanze sono dovute principalmente alla diversa interpretazione di alcuni toponimi e alla diversa valutazione delle fonti disponibili. Inoltre, si è visto che malgrado le più di cento fonti che menzionano il terremoto (Hammerl [1992] ne trascrive più di centosessanta), l’indicazione della maggior parte delle località situate nell’area epicentrale proviene da un ristretto numero di fonti che, di fatto, coincidono con quelle che sono state diversamente interpretate dai lavori di Hammerl (1992; 1994) e da Guidoboni e Comastri (2005).

Per questo motivo, in questa revisione ci si è soffermati particolarmente su queste tre fonti, ovvero le Gesta Bertholdi di Mathiae de Nuwenburg (XIV) e le cronache di Giovanni Villani (XIV) e di Detmar (XIV). E’ importante sottolineare che di queste tre fonti l’unica propriamente coeva all’evento è la cronaca di Giovanni Villani, scritta però a Firenze. Villani riferisce in primo luogo le notizie generiche arrivate alla sua città sull’evento, e poi riporta una lettera di mercanti fiorentini che da Udine, qualche giorno dopo l’accaduto, rendono conto dei danni causati dal terremoto nell’area epicentrale.

Mathiae de Nuwenburg scrisse a Strasburgo e in lingua latina una Chronica e, probabilmente dopo la morte del vescovo Bertoldo, accaduta nel novembre 1353,le Gesta BertholdiAmbedue le opere di Mathiae de Nuwenburg (XIV a, b) fanno riferimento al terremoto, però nella seconda l'autore aggiunge un lungo elenco di località che sarebbero state danneggiate. E’ verosimile che le sue fonti fossero, da una parte, le notizie arrivate dalla rete dei Cavalieri Teutonici, dei quali faceva parte il vescovo Bertoldo, e che avevano un ospedale a Friesach; e dall’altra, i contatti che il menzionato prelato aveva con la casa d’Austria, la quale da pochi anni governava la Carinzia. Ad ogni modo, poiché non è plausibile che Mathiae de Nuwenburg (XIV, b) abbia basato il suo testo sul ricordo di racconti altrui fatti all’epoca del terremoto, è lecito supporre che le sue fonti fossero documenti conservati o archiviati nella sede episcopale, o comunque a lui disponibili, e redatti all’epoca del terremoto.

Simile discorso si deve fare riguardo alla cronaca del frate francescano Detmar (XIV), scritta a Lubecca circa quaranta anni dopo il terremoto, in basso tedesco. Nel 1385 Detmar fu incaricato dalle autorità cittadine di continuare la cronaca della città, interrotta dall’epoca della peste nera, cioè lo stesso anno del terremoto (Ahlers, 1957). Allo stesso modo di Mathiae de Nuwenburg (XIV), Detmar (XIV) si servì di documentazione verosimilmente conservata nell’archivio cittadino (esistente almeno dalla fine del secolo XIII).

Al contrario della cronaca di Villani (XIV), il quale esplicitò l’origine della sua fonte, le opere di Detmar (XIV) e di Mathiae de Nuwenburg (XIVa, b) non dichiarano le loro fonti. Tuttavia, l’analisi dei testi rende possibile l’ipotesi che siano il prodotto di una composizione di testi diversi. Quindi, né Villani, né Mathiae de Nuwenburg (XIV a, b), né Detmar (XIV) rappresentano una fonte primaria, nel senso che nessuno di questi autori fu un testimone diretto dell’evento (non lo avvertirono, né videro i suoi effetti), e solo Villani lo descrisse poco tempo dopo (giorni o settimane) e rese esplicita la sua fonte. Nonostante ciò, si tratta di testi fondamentali, largamente utilizzati come fonti dagli specialisti di storia medievale, di cui difficilmente si può fare a meno per la comprensione di questo terremoto. Infatti, su queste tre fonti principali si basano 17 delle 24 località identificate dagli studi recenti in area epicentrale (Carinzia, Carniola, Friuli), mentre le rimanenti 7 località sono basate sui testi di altri sei autori. Inoltre, questi tre autori principali (particolarmente M. de Nuwenburg e Detmar) menzionano molte altre località non identificate in precedenza.

Si deve segnalare che la cronaca di Detmar (XIV) è stata utilizzata da Hammerl (1992; 1994), ma non da Guidoboni e Comastri (2005) perché considerata non coeva. Come si è accennato sopra, però, di queste tre fonti l’unica che può essere considerata, a rigore, coeva è la cronaca di Giovanni Villani (sebbene non sia stato testimone diretto dell’evento). Tuttavia, non esiste nessun motivo di carattere storiografico per escludere la cronaca di Detmar (XIV) tra le principali fonti. Anzi, con un’analisi critica del testo non solo si constata l’attendibilità delle sue informazioni, ma si rivela opera importante per migliorare le conoscenze su questo terremoto (pur se pone altre questioni da discutere).

L’analisi delle tre principali fonti

Per realizzare la rilettura di queste fonti, cioè per individuare i toponimi da esse riportati, abbiamo provato a riconoscere le loro logiche interne, come a suo tempo ha fatto Hammerl (1994) quando ha analizzato le reti e contatti che sottostavano ad ognuna di esse. Come accennato sopra, la cronaca del Villani (XIV) è quella in cui le articolazioni interne sono più chiare. La stessa Hammerl (1994: 231-232) ha messo in relazione le strade commerciali di allora con le località elencate dai mercanti autori della lettera menzionata dal cronista fiorentino. In questo modo, Hammerl (1994) ha identificato le località friulane e quelle collocate sulle strade che andavano, da un lato, da Udine verso la Baviera e, dall’altro, da Udine verso Villach e Feldkirchen. Sulla scia di Hammerl (1992; 1994), lo studio di Guidoboni e Comastri (2005) ha arricchito la mappa del danno identificando altre località. In questa sede abbiamo rilevato qualche incongruenza sull’interpretazione della cronaca che ha portato alla eliminazione di Monte Croce Carnico, perché non corrispondente alla effettiva geografia umana della zona, in altre parole: non si trattava di un centro abitato e quindi non è possibile attribuirgli una intensità macrosismica (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 - Località identificate nella Nuova Cronaca di Giovanni Villani, da C. Hammerl (1992, 1994): e da Guidoboni e Comastri (2005)

Nelle Gesta Bertholdi, Mathiae de Nuwenburg (XIV b) menziona ventitré località, ma Hammerl (1992; 1994) e Guidoboni e Comastri (2005) ne identificano allo stesso modo solo nove, mentre per le restanti quattordici propongono identificazioni difformi oppure non identificano affatto le località corrispondenti (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2 - Le diverse interpretazioni delle Gesta, di Mathias von Neuenburg (XIV b).

In questo caso l’identificazione di una logica interna risulta più complessa che per il testo del Villani; tuttavia il confronto della Chronica con le Gestaoffre il primo indizio della natura composita di quest’ultimo testo. Si è provato a identificare le località dubbie e quelle sconosciute a partire dalla scomposizione del testo in gruppi di località, secondo le possibili fonti adoperate dall’autore. Quest’analisi ha portato a ipotizzare l’uso da parte di Mathiae de Nuwenburg (XIV b), di almeno tre fonti diverse: due che paiono avere origine a Villach e un’altra a Klagenfürt (località che però non è mai nominata e che rimane al centro di un gruppo di toponimi). In un secondo momento, partendo dalle località di ‘sicura identificazione’ di ogni gruppo (particolarmente quelle in cui le ipotesi dei due studi coincidono), si è cercato di identificare a quali località potessero essere riferiti i nomi non noti o dubbi.

Anche per questa fonte l’analisi critica del testo e la toponomastica storica della regione hanno portato a confermare alcune scelte dei precedenti studi, a modificarne altre (ad esempio l’eliminazione di Bad Bleiberg, perché non risulta esistente all’epoca del terremoto: cfr. Ginhart, 2001: 28-32) e a includerne altre ancora (Fig. 2b).

Fig. 2b - Le diverse interpretazioni delle Gesta Bertholdi con le modifiche e aggiunte della presente ricerca.

Per il testo di Detmar (XIV) si è utilizzato lo stesso metodo: la scomposizione del testo in parti che potrebbero corrispondere alle diverse fonti adoperate dall’autore. In modo sintetico si può indicare che nel testo si distinguono (in modo analogo alle Gesta), una descrizione generale e poi un lungo numero di località, che a sua volta può essere diviso (grazie alle tracce linguistiche presenti nello stesso testo) in tre parti principali, che corrisponderebbero ad altrettante fonti: due delle quali riferite all’area epicentrale e la terza all’area slovena e della fascia orientale della Carinzia.

Fig. 3 - Località desunte dalla Cronaca di Detmar (XIV)

Conclusioni.

L’esito finale di questa revisione, non esaustiva, è un notevole arricchimento del quadro macrosismico (Fig. 4). I motivi per ulteriori ricerche e approfondimenti sono molti, in particolare per indagare la presenza di effetti ambientali (frane e fenomeni di liquefazione) e migliorare la comprensione della sequenza nel suo complesso.

La stima delle intensità macrosismiche qui presentata (Tab. 1) è il prodotto, da un lato, della revisione critica approfondita delle tre fonti principali analizzate, che impegnano le aree in cui si è verificato il maggior danno. Inoltre, sono state incorporate informazioni raccolte nel corso della ricerca all’interno del progetto HAREIA, in particolare: Cavitelli (XVI), Closener (XIV), Konrad von Megenberg (XIV), Necrologio del Capitolo concordiese(XIV), Chiuppani (XVIII), Crivellari (XIX), Miari (1865), Maggi (XVI), Sbaiz (1934), Nicoletti (XVI). Infine, sono stati riconsiderati alcuni dati puntuali presenti nello studio di riferimento del CPTI11 (Guidoboni et al., 2007), alla luce delle fonti storiche su cui si fondavano, in particolare le località di Noale e Mestre (cfr. Senato, XIV).

Nell'ultima colonna della tabella (“Quality Code” - QC) si indica per ogni località un codice, proposto da Musson (1998: 85), composto da tre caratteri che indicano ciascuno la possibile presenza di problemi; in ordine: "Veracity" (1a colonna), ovvero l’accuratezza delle informazioni disponibili, se adeguate a definire gli effetti; "locational certainty" (2a colonna), vale a dire correttezza dell’identificazione e georeferenziazione del toponimo citato, e "Reliability" (3a colonna), attendibilità delle informazioni fornite.

Il codice risulta pertanto così composto:

Code	Problems
000	None
100	Veracity
010	Locational
001	Reliability
101	Veracity + Reliability
110	Veracity + Locational
011	Locational + Reliability
111	All three

Come detto sopra, la presente scheda descrive in estrema sintesi il lavoro di revisione sviluppato nel corso del progetto HAREIA; l’analisi di dettaglio, la bibliografia completa e le motivazioni a supporto del processo di interpretazione saranno forniti dal rapporto esteso.

Fig. 4 - Località identificate da Hammerl (1992, 1994) e da Guidoboni e Comastri (2005) e ora confermate e località aggiunte dal presente studio .

Foreword

This monograph is the product of years of research, and I consider it to have great value and to be of particular scientific importance. The sheer breadth of the area investigated - nineteen different countries are involved and the time span from the 11th to the 15th century called for a number of long and complex research projects funded by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) starting from 1994, the year of publication of the previous volume (Catalogue of ancient earthquakes in the Mediterranean area up to the 10th Century), up until 1999. All the work of reviewing, supplementing and updating, together with computerised cartography, has been carried out independently by the Storia Geofisica Ambiente (SGA) team, who gave continuity to the research pursued during those years.
These two catalogues make a contribution of international importance to the seismology of the Mediterranean area, and in some respects carry forward a trend that has become increasingly marked over the past decade. Increasingly earth science studies have been crossing national boundaries: it is beginning to be realised that certain great environmental catastrophes cannot be understood without referring to the whole of the geographical area affected - as has been dramatically illustrated by the hugely disastrous tsunami of 26 December 2004 in the Indian Ocean. The fact that geodynamic phenomena take no account of national boundaries is of vital importance when dealing with extreme natural events in history, for the fragmented nature of their effects means that they must all be studied and interpreted in strict relation to their cultural, social and economic context.
The authors have in some ways anticipated the heightened interest in tsunamis following the disaster of 26 December 2004 by focusing on them both in this volume and the previous one. As can be seen from tsunamis like the ones occurring in 1202 and 1303, the Mediterranean is also the scenario for phenomena whose effects may now be offset thanks to research and modern technology. To those who witnessed them in centuries past, such events must have seemed terrifying, inescapable, and largely inexplicable. As this new catalogue demonstrates, historical research can throw crucial fresh light on these phenomena. We now know that great earthquakes and great tsunamis are likely but rare events in the Mediterranean area, and for this reason that we must push our investigations very far back in time.
This volume draws to a close a research cycle whose unitary nature is a consequence of the very history of the Mediterranean area in the centuries being examined: the 15th century was chosen as an important) historical and cultural watershed (in 1453 the fall of Constantinople saw the end of the Byzantine Empire). The considerable seismic and volcanic activity of those five centuries was accompanied by a substantial loss of historical information, leading to real difficulties in studying and understanding the dynamics involved. This catalogue lies chronologically in between two quite different ages: at one extreme we have the beginning of modern times - and hence of more readily available data - while at the other we look back to the early Middle Ages and the ancient world, the latter being the subject of archaeoseismological and palaeoseismological investigations. So here we have some important pieces to fit into the jigsaw, and I certainly hope the catalogue will encourage the scientific community to make use of the data provided and also to embark on new research.
Enzo Boschi
President of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia

Preface

The many years of research that underpin this catalogue began immediately after the publication of the first volume in 1994 (Catalogue of ancient earthquakes in the Mediterranean area up to the 10th century). Thus the time range of this second volume naturally follows on from the first one, covering the period from the 11th century until the end of the 15th. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the Turkish occupation constitute an important turning point in the history of the Mediterranean, affecting source types and the way information circulated. Our intensive research lasted a number of years, leading to results that were ready for publication in the year 2000. However, when the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica took on a new institutional form in 1999, adding Vulcanologia to its name, different publishing policies were put in place at INGV, which meant that publication plans for this catalogue were halted from 2001 to mid-2004. During those years, however, the authors of the catalogue continued to update their bibliography and track down new editions of sources. Manuscript research and new source editions also continued without interruption, leading to additional information and the new interpretation of some major earthquakes, which became the subject of a number of specific publications (e.g. the Syrian earthquakes of 1138, 1156-1157, 1170, that of 1117 in Italy, as well as a score of earthquakes unknown to current catalogues).
It is true that this catalogue is being published a good deal later than planned, and that it has undergone certain modifications. We decided, for example, not to publish the long and complex introduction that had been planned, or our iconographical research, but the delay has nevertheless produced some rather positive results: it has enabled us to carry out a more thorough review of our results and to examine certain matters in greater depth. The cartography has also improved in certain respects, and now appears in a new guise.
Although this complex and stratified catalogue covers an area now occupied by 19 countries, it can never be claimed that the work is complete. The levels of knowledge provided here are indeed different for different seismic events and tsunamis: in some cases the data make it possible to provide fairly detailed scenarios of effects, while in others it is not even possible to calculate the parameters. In the latter cases, at least the established chronological indicators remain, and may allow scholars to embark on new research. So this is an openended work, in two ways at least:
i) all the historical data that we have worked on and interpreted are presented in the original languages;
ii) the updating of our knowledge base to 2004 may well foster the advancement of other research work.
In general we have tried to stick to what we consider to be one of the basic principles of historical seismology, namely clear and controlled decision-making in the process of assessing historical earthquakes. We have also aimed to stir up an interest in historical seismological research as a valuable aid to seismological and palaeoseismological analyses. Medieval historians interested in the Mediterranean area can make good use of the information about the history of territories and environments which they approach from different standpoints. The persistence and destructive force of earthquakes and the impact of tsunamis have left deep scars in the cultures and economies of medieval Mediterranean societies.

Historical sources and works used

The texts of historical sources are provided in this catalogue in their original languages. There sources are in several different languages (Greek, Latin, Arabic, Hebrew, Armenian, Syriac, Italian, French, German etc.). In order to understand seismic activity in the Mediterranean area in medieval times, primary evidence is obviously not enough on its own, though we think it an essential part of a catalogue. Such information also has to be put into its context and related to other aspects of historical demography, and the sites mentioned in the sources have to be located. In our opinion, that is the only way that assessments of earthquake effects can have a meaning and a consistency where there is a dearth of information. All the data in this catalogue have been subjected to ex novo analysis and interpretation, involving a close dialogue with other studies in seismological literature.
Although the results obtained cannot, strictly speaking, be described as definitive owing to thej nature of the research involved, we have thought fit to give scholars and researchers the benefit of such advances as we have made. In addition, the catalogue makes it possible to systematise a tradition of catalogues and studies that is very frequently confusing, and far from faultless.
The basic sources have been identified by means of dedicated research work carried out by a work group set up for the purpose. The researchers and experts have worked on specific projects, carried out at different stages, with a view to locating, selecting and translating the historical sources. We have not only paid attention to the sources, but also to analysing the existing knowledge. In the case of many large earthquakes, there is a history of their interpretation that can be found in the scientific literature, but so scattered it has nearly always been ignored. We have taken these histories into account, hopefully with due clarity, in order to show how the interpretations of an earthquake substantially reflect the underlying level of historical understanding. The fact is that by honing our historical knowledge, whether through textual or non-textual evidence (population rates, types of building, particular political or military situations, etc.) it is nearly always possible to achieve new levels of interpretation.

The events described

This catalogue contains information, with different levels of analysis, relating to 383 earthquakes 22 tsunamis, and 102 environmental effects. The seismic effects located are 1344 and concern towns, villages, and castles in the Mediterranean area, situated within 19 present-day Countries.
We have tried to make every entry as complete as possible, as concerns the historical sources selected. Within the heading for each individual entry, the reader can review the texts that have been used to analyse the event, ranging from historical sources to the relevant literature, historiography and catalogues.
For a summary assessment of the earthquakes and tsunamis analysed in this catalogue, the reader should refer to the general maps and parametric catalogues included at the end of the volume. For an overall picture of the density of seismic events across the centuries, regardless of the countries where the effects were felt, see the graph at the beginning of the Short Catalogue (p.827).

The catalogue team

The authors of this catalogue have enjoyed the collaboration of text scholars and researchers working in oriental languages. The task of selecting the sources began in 1992; some of our researchers are now established lecturers at Italian universities, but when they were helping on this project they were mostly post-graduates or researchers. Since it was impossible to adopt a systematic approach for all language areas, we set up some basic research projects which gradually developed over time, partly in relation to the allocation of funds for the various projects involved in the INGV research plans. It should be said that this catalogue developed “along the margins” of other research that was at the time reckoned to be more urgent or more important.
The work’s complexity, the time required to carry out research and transcribe and interpret the sources as they became identified (often a tortuous and difficult matter), the identification of the relevant scientific literature and catalogues, and the careful evaluation of the seismological results obtained, meant that the task of compiling the catalogue was a very lengthy one. Inevitably there were changes of collaborators in some language areas: but such changes were offset, so to speak, by the fact that we ourselves carried on with the incessant checking of the philological and codicological literature, the manuscripts and new editions of sources. During its long period of preparation, this catalogue has been like a “laboratory” where we have endlessly tried to improve its every aspect, deal with uncertainties, solve problems. On the one hand, the amount of time needed has allowed us to produce results that are original and, we hope, not too short-lived, but it has also meant that we actually ran the risk of losing sight of a comprehensive single approach to the sources, so we were obliged to reopen certain areas of study more than onc e, thereby going well beyond the remit of the current projects carried out on behalf of INGV. It is with a certain degree of satisfaction therefore, that we now present all this information - the fruit of over a decade of intense teamwork. We have decided not to give our collaborators’ current academic qualifications, because in many cases that would mean misrepresenting the original nature of the group, which at the ti me consisted of talented young researchers who worked with us enthusiastically as well as confidently, especially in the years between 1992 and 2000. We list them below by language and theme:

Antonio Rigo	(University of Venice) carried out a critical review of the Byzantine sources already recorded by SGA researchers, and added to them;	Greek
Roberta Scopece	carried out systematic research into the Greek codices at the Biblioteca Ajpostolica Vaticana;
Adalberto Magnelli	(Italian School of Archaeology at Athens and University of Florence) carried out a complex piece of research into Byzantine inscription sources.
Leonardo Capezzone Roberta Denaro	(Universita La Sapienza, Rome) and (Universita di Messina): selected and transcribed the texts of published Arabic sources;	Arabic
Nouha Stephan	transcribed manuscript Arabic texts in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.
Claude Detienne Gianfrancesco Lusini	(University of Louvain) and (Universita Orientale of Naples) supplemented and reviewed the Syriac sources already recorded by SGA researchers.	Syriac
Giusto Traina Igor Dorfmann-Lazarev	(University of Lecce) and (Université Paul Valery, Montpellier) selected and translated Armenian texts and inscriptions.	Armenian
Federico Marazzi	(Universita Suor Orsola Benincasa, Naples) selected and translated the texts from the Recueil des Historiens des Croisades - Historiens Occidentaux.	Latin Crusade Chronicles
Nadia Zeldes	(Jewish National and University Library of Jerusalem) transcribed and translated published and manuscript Hebrew sources.	Hebrew
In the case of earthquakes in Italy, we reviewed, deepened and added to all the earlier studies, most of which published in the Catalogue of Strong Italian Earthquakes from 461 B.C. to 1997 (Boschi et al. 2000, and further releases on the web site http://storing.ingv.it/cft/). The results presented here are thus an update to the above-mentioned catalogue.		Latin and Italian

In addition, the following researchers played an important part in our working group:

Cecilia Ciuccarelli	helped us with the final draft and the editing of the catalogue. She took part in several discussions as we sought to solve the many problems presented by the text;
Dante Mariotti	located the most difficult place names, and collaborated with us in estimating the parameters;
Filippo Bernardini	collaborated with us at an early stage in classifying the seismic effects; he also developed some of the seismotectonic aspects for the 12th century earthquakes in Syria (see Guidoboni et al. 2004);
Maria Giovanna Bianchi	produced the large-scale maps of urban effects, the graphs and the digitalisation of the illustrations; she also collaborated in the final editing stage;
Maria Luisa De Simone	dealt with the index of names and places;
Brian Phillips	translated the texts and sources into English with the skill and accuracy that typify his work.
Cartography	The thematic cartography was done by Gabriele Tarabusi using Maplnfo Professional (www.mapinfo.com) software. The relief cartographic bases have been made by Marco Gualdrini (GEOgrafica, Faenza), using Visual Nature Studio 2.5 software (3dNature LLC, www.3dnature.com), on the base of the georeferenced terrain altimetric data. The general cartographic base of the Mediterranean is derived from the GTOPO30 Digital Elevation Model (U.S. Geological Survey EROS Data Center) resampled at the resolution of 500 m x 500 m in x and y. For the detail of the Italian territory a cartographic base elaborated from the Digital Terrain Model of the INGV was used: the cell size of the grid is 250 m x 250 m. The various ground models have been depicted in planimetric views with shaded-relief techniques using multiple lights, to improve the graphic quality of the three-dimensional relief. Earthquakes in the Sea of Marmara were reviewed and examined as part of the RELIEF (Reliable Information on Earthquake Faulting) European project “I.1.1. Seismic Risks” EVG1-CT-2002-00069, responsible for INGV dr Daniela Pantosti. The contributions to this Catalogue have entailed coordination with various work groups at different stages. Wide-ranging and decisive though these have often been, it is the authors who take full responsibility for any errors or omissions in the data presented here.

In the afternoon of January 25th, 1348, a serious earthquake occurred. The epicentral area was believed to be located in the Austrian town Villach and parts of the Dobratsch mountain slid into the valley. Estimates of the number of people killed ranged from 5,000 to 10,000. This might be the information on this earthquake, if you summarise the numerous but heterogenic reports on that earthquake published since the event. The various studies on that earthquake have been written from different viewpoints: the seismological, historical, and philosophical aspect, the aspect of a natural catastrophe, etc.

Fig. 1 shows the assessment of its parameters according to five studies selected among those published between 1940 and 1985.

Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 show two macroseismic maps of the 1348 event as emerging respectively from Ambraseys (1976) and Gentile et al. (1985). The fact that these two maps differ even in the near-field area, the differences in epicentral intensity, magnitude and epicentre location (Fig. 1) suggested the necessity of a re-consideration of this earthquake from the point of view of historical investigation. So the 1348 earthquake had been extensively studied as a case history (Hammerl, 1992) to process the historical source material in the best possible manner employing the science of history, its auxiliary sciences and subsidiary branches, as well as by means of special, interdisciplinary methods.

A complete documentation of the sources and a precise description of the procedure should make this study transparent for any subsequent studies, which may be geared to other specific tasks, such as questions on seismicity posed by engineers (building of large technical constructions, etc.).