An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis at Assisi to collapse.

The 1997 Umbria and Marche earthquakes occurred in the regions of Umbria and Marche, central Italy over a period of several months from September 1997 to April 1998. It consisted of eight earthquakes with magnitudes greater than Mw 5. The first of the larger shocks, which measured Mw 5.7, occurred…