Earthquakes in Sicily. Q3X 



troubled Sicily. Early one morning in February, 1444, 

 enormous masses of heated matter, amidst huge volumes of 

 smoke and flame, were raised from the summit of Vulcano, 

 hurled about the sea to the distance of six miles, while 

 strong shocks agitated this island and Sicily.* Other flaming 

 masses were thrown out on the 24th of August, 1631, which, 

 driven by the wind passed over Naso in Sicily, directly in 

 front of Vulcano, and on the next day this unhappy city, by 

 the violence of the convulsions of the earth, was entirely laid 

 in ruins. Many persons were injured. A cleft was made 

 in the soil from which a very strong odour of sulphur issued.f 

 On the 22d of April, 1717, at dawn of da}', a deep subterra- 

 nean murmur was heard, accompanied by a severe earth- 

 quake, the shocks of which were felt all along the northern 

 shore, even to Messina. But the places which suffered most 

 were those nearly over against Vulcano, as Milazzo, Pozzo- 

 digotto^Castrorealo, twenty-six miles distant from it. The 

 last city was entirely ruined. J Shocks were renewed in the 

 same places in 1732; and with much greater force in 1736, 

 when the whole northern coast was violently affected, par- 

 ticularly Palermo, Ciminna, which was much damaged, and 

 Naso, which suffered still more.§ On the 4th of May, 1739, 

 about 3 o'clock P. M. the inhabitants of St. Marco, a town 

 back of Naso, saw thrown from the mouth of Vulcano im- 

 mense clouds of smoke and burning matter, which, driven 

 by the wind, came roaring and thundering over Sicily, letting 

 fall perpendicularly into the sea and on the neighbouring 

 shore, flaming matter which gave out on every side bright 

 sparks and struck with fearful crashes. It passed over Naso 

 and St. Marco, and went on wasting itself in the interior. 

 Such phenomena were unlucky omens to these unhappy 

 towns. At 12 o'clock on the 9th, a dreadful howling from 

 Vu.i ano was followed by a violent shock, which after a few 

 moments was repeated with many explosions ; more than a 

 hundred were counted within six days, and another on the 

 twenty-first. Great rocks were detached from the mountains 

 in the vicinity. Another flaming mass on the 9th of June, 

 darted from Vulcano and passed over Sicily ; shocks were 

 felt till the 22d, accompanied by howHngs and numerous 



* Faz. dec. 1. t Carr. Dial, il Booaa. 



t Bott. de Tiin. ten. M^ss. 1717. § Mong. Stor. del trem. 



