A catalogue of the earthquakes which have produced macroseismic effects in the Etnean area during the 1832-1998 period is presented. The motivation for creating a catalogue specifically for this region derives from the fact that the traditional parametric catalogues do not allow a detailed characterisation of seismicity, for instance in terms of seismic sequences or seismotectonic analyses. The quantity and the quality of available historical information for the area allow to investigate these aspects. The performed analysis has permitted to associate about 550 earthquakes with seismogenic structures so that it is possible to investigate fault behaviour in time. The catalogue has been compiled through the analysis of some 200 contemporaneous sources (scientific papers, bulletins, newspapers and archive documents) and the intensities assessed by using the EMS-98 macroseismic scale. The catalogue lists 1735 events in all.

For each event the focal parameters are defined: epicentral location, maximum and epicentral intensities, macroseismic magnitude, when possible seismogenic fault and coseismic surface faulting; instrumental values of magnitude and depth are also reported. Tests on determination of the epicentral coordinates and some examples of possible use and application of the catalogue dataset are presented. The attached CD-ROM, which includes a database of 7325 macroseismic observations, is a searchable catalogue for epicentres and intensity maps of all the events. In addition, the following queries can be performed: selection of earthquakes by date, intensity and coordinates; reconstruction of the seismic histories for 426 localities in the Etna area.