The year 1638 undoubtedly holds unquestionable significance in the social, geographical, and geological history of southern Italy, particularly Calabria. The sequence of earthquakes that occurred between May and June of that year, due to the severity of the damage caused and the vastness of the area affected, is unparalleled, except for the earthquake that struck Calabria in 1783 and the one that occurred in the first decade of the 20th century. There are numerous civil and ecclesiastical accounts of the event, as well as direct testimonies: it is therefore possible to paint a particularly accurate and comprehensive picture of the human, sociological, economic, and seismological consequences of an event of this magnitude. According to some accounts, on March 27, 1638, at sunset, there was a single, very strong tremor, the effects of which can currently be classified as level eleven on the Mercalli scale. According to various sources, however, there were at least three consecutive tremors, which also occurred on March 28. Based on the reflections of contemporary seismologists, it is much more likely that there were multiple tremors (some of which were particularly intense). The chronicles of the time were particularly accurate in describing the damage that the entire Calabrian territory was forced to suffer, including from a purely hydrogeological and geomorphological point of view. The Mediterranean region was characterized by the presence of vast land holdings, which were owned by the nobility and the clergy (although usually held in usufruct): the latter used to have their land holdings and boundaries measured (with extraordinary accuracy, in fact!). Comparing the topography before and after the disaster, it can be seen that the earthquake caused deep chasms in the ground, the complete drying up of springs, the diversion of underground and surface watercourses, and the creation of vast swampy areas. There are reports of a hill whose summit ‘collapsed with an unprecedented roar’. Furthermore, along the coast of Pizzo, the sea, due to a very strong tremor, ‘retreated by 2000 steps’ (about 3.7 km).
At that time, present-day Calabria was an integral part of the Kingdom of Naples, which was a cultural and geopolitical stronghold among the Spanish possessions on the Italian peninsula. King Philip IV, in particular, had established a viceroyalty, headed by the Duke of Medina de la Torres (Ramiro Felipe Núñez de Guzmán). The region had been divided into two parts, a distinction that would remain in place for a long time, practically until the unification of Italy: Calabria Citra and Calabria Ultra.
When news of the terrible disaster reached Naples, the Viceroy quickly entrusted Ettore Capecelatro, his advisor, with “extraordinary powers” so that he could “travel to the places affected by the earthquake” and “with the utmost speed” draw up a “very accurate account” of the damage and victims, also putting “possible resolutions” in writing.
In short, he was an extraordinary commissioner in every sense of the word.
Capecelatro, who visited the site, astutely observed that the effects of the earthquake, already devastating in itself, were incredibly exacerbated by the fact that the region in question was dotted with small villages, perched on hills “almost like eagles,” with “extremely fragile” houses, as they were built with pebbles “taken from rivers,” or with “raw clay,” made “dry and powdery” by the hot sun that illuminated the region. The councilor's official count speaks of 9,571 deaths: 6,811 “souls” in Calabria Citra, and 2,760 in Calabria Ultra.
In reality, this figure should be considered an underestimate: a much more reliable estimate is 30,000 victims, as indicated in the report by the Duke of Medina “to the attention of the most holy Spanish Crown”: in fact, there were many “[...] miserable creatures who perished from wounds, hardship, hunger, and mysterious illnesses,” as well as the disappearance of an unknown number of “animals from which the local populations obtained and processed milk, eggs, and cheese.”
See the “Vera Relatione del spaventevole terremoto, successo alli 27. di marzo sulle 21.hore, nelle Provincie di Calabria Citra e Ultra” , Rome, Grignani, 1638. This publication contains an account of “[...] all the damage caused to cities, towns, and castles, with their names and the number of people who died.” Another fundamental source is Lutio d'Orsi Belcastro, "The Earthquakes of the Two Calavrias, faithfully described by Mr. Lutio d'Orsi Belcastro, as an eyewitness. With the addition of the very precise and distinct reports written by the royal councilor Hettore Capeceletro" Typ. Rob Mollis, 1640.
