Italy

A seismic event (earthquake) of about a 6.3 magnitude hit the city of l’Aquila in central Italy at around 03.30 on Monday 6th April.

Extensive damage over the region, roughly 60 miles from Rome, occurred and many people were killed - at the time of writing the figure has been guessed at around 280 and still, sadly, rising.

In addition, somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 people have been left homeless and destitute by the event. Figures currently indicate a further 1,500 people injured.

Sadly, poor old Italy sits on a nexus or gathering point of several tectonic plates - all pulling in different directions.

You may also remember that In 1997 a similarly violent quake caused extensive damage to the Basilica at Assisi . The problem for Italy is the relative movement of two major plates, the African and the Eurasian plates. The Mediterranean Sea shrinks by around 2cms each year as the African plate drifts North. Eventually, given enough time, the Mediterranean Sea will disappear entirely as this process continues.

But the Italian dilemma is even more complex than this as there is also seismic activity to both the West (in the Med) and to the East (in the Adriatic).

Despite all of the work and effort expended by scientists over the years, it is not possible to predict these events at this time. The forces involved are so enormous and the complexity of factors involved so overwhelming that it doesn’t look like science will be much help any time soon.

The massive contradiction here is that, without these tectonic events, Italy would not be the stunningly beautiful place that it is.

Travel around Italy and you’re immediately struck by the geography of the place. Gorgeous mountains, beautiful valleys, fertile plains, stunning beaches, craggy coastlines, volcanoes - Italy has it all. And it didn’t get to be like that by being a benign geographical environment.

Unlike e.g. Scotland where the mountains tend to be smooth and rounded in their appearance, the Italian mountains are sharp and craggy in appearance indicating their relative youth, in many cases still building and evolving!