Ten people were killed, hundreds injured and at least 2,250 evacuated from their homes yesterday as a result of two major earthquakes in the Umbria and Marche regions of central Italy. Striking first at 2.33 a.m. yesterday and then again at 11.41 a.m., the earthquakes also caused considerable damage to priceless works of art, including frescos by Giotto and Cimabue, in the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi.
The Basilica of St Francis itself also suffered severe damage, as part of its roof fell in during the second tremor in mid-morning. Among those dead were two Franciscan priests and two technicians who were in the basilica examining the damage caused by the earlier tremor.
In Paris the director of the Louvre art museum, Mr Pierre Rosenberg, said a partial collapse of the church was "a pure catastrophe for world heritage".
Italy's National Geophysical Institute said that the two major tremors had measured 5.5 and 5.8 respectively on the Richter scale. Although the US Geological Survey declared both quakes "moderate", the tremor provoked by both was strong enough to be clearly felt in Rome, 150 km to the south.
The source of the seismic activity which caused yesterday's earthquakes lies close to Italy's central Appennine ridge, the mountain range which forms a backbone along almost the length of the Italian peninsula.
Yesterday's death toll might have been much heavier were it not for the fact that the zone struck by the tremors is a largely rural, lightly populated area of small hillside villages and unoccupied holiday or weekend homes.
Visiting Assisi yesterday, the Italian Prime Minister, Mr Romano Prodi, declared a state of emergency, adding that the government had set aside £25 million in relief funds to help cope with the disaster.
The Cathedral of Urbino, the Church of Santa Chiara in Assisi and the Sanctuary of San Nicola a Tolentino, as well as the Basilica of St Francis, were just some of the celebrated buildings at least partially damaged yesterday. It seems that one of the gems of mediaeval art, the frescos by Cimabue in the upper Basilica of St Francis, have been irreparably damaged. It appears that damage to the Giotto frescos, also in the St Francis Basilica, is less serious.
Mild earthquakes are nothing new in central Italy, parts of which have become semi-deserted partly because of the earthquake problem. Last night more than 2,000 people from villages in the Marche region and 250 from villages in Umbria were preparing to spend the night in mobile homes provided by the rescue services.