The impact of the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Italy's Emilia-Romagna region on May 20 appears to have been made worse by the fact that significant seismic activity is rare there. Seven people have been reported dead in the aftermath of the first major earthquake anywhere nearby since the Ferrara quake of 1570.
Centuries of stable ground meant many villages in the region were well-stocked with Renaissance-era structures that were particularly vulnerable to tremors. In Finale Emilia, about 20 miles north of Bologna, a 14th-century clock tower was split vertically, with the remaining half coming down during a powerful aftershock.