ROME (Reuters) -A minor earthquake in southern Italy has caused the partial collapse of a wall and a portion of a vault at the Pompeii archaeological site, authorities said on Thursday.
The quake with a magnitude of 3.2 on Thursday morning was the latest in a series of tremors centred on the nearby Campi Flegrei super volcano close to the city of Naples.
The affected area of Pompeii had been damaged in a major earthquake that hit southern Italy in 1980 and had since been shored up and restored.
There were no frescoes or movable relics in the damaged structure and no one was injured.
Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the site’s director, said checks were being carried out to ensure no other areas had been affected.
The ancient settlement of Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
(Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Giselda Vagnoni)
Comments