The first of two earthquakes measuring Mw 7.2 strikes Italy, causing extreme destruction and killing upwards of 70,000 people.

On December 5, 1456, the largest earthquake to occur on the Italian Peninsula in historical times struck the Kingdom of Naples. The earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude of Mw 7.19–7.4, and was centred near the town of Pontelandolfo in the present-day Province of Benevento, southern Italy.…