Comparison among some seismotectonic characteristics of the main historical earthquakes in the Central Apennines (Italy)

In this work we analyzed three main earthquakes (M>6) in the Central Apennines for which sufficient documentation allows analysis: the 1703 Umbria-Marche-Abruzzo (Norcia-Cascia), the 1915 Fucino and the 2009 L’Aquila earthquakes. The 2009 earthquake is obviously the best documented, and allows for the most detailed analyses, which can serve as a reference for the other events. The three events analyzed show similarities with regard to the development of seismic sequence and kinematics. First of all, it can be assumed that they derived by the activation of the same seismogenic structure, the CCFS. The quaternary lefttranstensive Celano-Cittareale fault system (CCFS) consists of several sub-parallel high-angle main branches, trending NW-SE to NNW-SSE, and extends for more than 75 km along the axial zone of the Central Apennines, at least from Fucino Plain to Cittareale-Norcia. Secondly, the structure was clearly activated by contiguous segments and was scaled over time.