Historical Seismograms - Evidence from the AD 2000 Izu Islands ...

HISTORICAL SEISMOGRAMS IN ITALYR. Console and P. FavaliIstituto Nazionale di GeofisicaRome, ItalyABSTRACTInstrumental seismology began in Italy before 1890, and historical seismogramsrecorded at the end of last century are still available. In particular,the Geophysical Observatory of Rocca di Papa (Rome) operatedfrom 1888 to 1936.Seismograms recorded at Rocca di Papa are kept at the Istituto Nazionaledi Geofisica (Rome), where an inventory is being carried out toprepare a catalog of the records.The seismograms are supposed to be reliable for reevaluation of magnitudes(using both amplitude and duration) and, for seismograms thatwere recorded at a high paper speed with special devices, digitation forcomputer-aided waveform analysis.Several other seismic stations were also operating in Italy around thebeginning of this century. Some of them, such as Florence, Naples, andFoggia, maintain an archive of old seismograms.We intend to cooperate with the International Historical SeismogramsFilming Project, acting as the national agency for coordination in thisfield, and to study techniques for the analysis of historical seismograms.1. IntroductionItaly is well known for its contributions to seismology. The names of De Rossi,Mercalli, and Cancani are recognized all over the world. Since 1874, the BolIettinodel Vulcanisrno Italian0 (edited by De Rossi) reported on seismic events recordedin Italy.In 1885 the task of carrying out seismological observations was given by lawto the Royal Central Office of Meteorology (renamed the Royal Central Office ofMeteorology and Geodynamics in 1887). This organization soon founded three newobservatories, in addition to those already operated in Italy by private institutions.The new observatories were at Catania, Casamicciola (Ischia Island), and Rocca diPapa (near Rome); the latter was directed until 1936 by Professor G. Agamennone.The Bulletin of the Italian Seismological Society (BISS), founded in 1895 byTacchini, systematically reported on seismic events in Italy and their instrumentalrecordings.As an example, the BISS reported that, in 1909, more than 30 seismologicalobservatories were operating in Italy, though their geographical distribution andinstrumental quality were not homogeneous. Most of the material recorded by thisimpressive network has been lost, but in some observatories, e.g., Rocca di Papa,Florence, Naples, and Foggia, many important seismograms still exist.Historical Seismogramsand Earthquakes of the World447Copyright cs' 19KX by Academic Press, Inc.All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.