Pescina
Encyclopedia
Pescina is a township and comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

in the province of L'Aquila
Province of L'Aquila
thumb|left|200px|Map of the province.The Province of L'Aquila is the largest, most mountainous and least densely populated province of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It comprises about half the landmass of Abruzzo and occupies the western part of the region...

, Abruzzo
Abruzzo
Abruzzo is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...

, centrl Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It is a part of the mountain community Valle del Giovenco.

Geography

Pescina borders on the communes of Celano
Celano
Celano is a town and comune in the Province of L'Aquila, central Italy, east of Rome by rail.-Geography:Celano rises on the top of a hill in the territory of Marsica, below the mountain range of Sirente. It faces the valley of Fucino, once filled by the large Fucine Lake, which was drained during...

, Collarmele
Collarmele
Collarmele is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy...

, Gioia dei Marsi
Gioia dei Marsi
Gioia dei Marsi is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy....

, Ortona dei Marsi
Ortona dei Marsi
Ortona dei Marsi is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is included in the Marsica traditional area....

, Ortucchio
Ortucchio
Ortucchio is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy...

, Ovindoli
Ovindoli
Ovindoli is a village and comune of the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. Close to Rome, it is a popular resort for both summer and winter sports, including hiking, biking, equestrian activities and downhill and cross-country skiing.-Geography:Ovindoli lies in the...

, San Benedetto dei Marsi
San Benedetto dei Marsi
San Benedetto dei Marsi is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy...

, and Trasacco
Trasacco
Trasacco is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy....



Located in the flatland areas of the province, Pescina has a milder climate compared to other towns and cities in Abruzzo, with temperatures averaging between 36.5 degrees Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees...

 (2.5 Celsius
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...

) in the colder months (such as January) to 73.2 degrees Fahrenheit (22.9 Celsius) in the warmer months (such as July). Rainfall is relatively heavy, averaging 32.3 inches (82 centimeters) annually and occurring mostly in the late autumn. In the winter snowfall is also relatively abundant.

The Earthquake of 1915

The earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

 of 1915 (also known as the earthquake of Avezzano) was a dramatic seismic event occurring on January 13, 1915, which struck the entire area of Marisca, situated in the interior of Abruzzo. It was one of the most catastrophic earthquakes to occur in Italian territory, leaving 120,000 victims in Marisca and surrounding areas.

The earthquake occurred at 7:48 AM local time and attained a magnitude of 11 on the Mercalli scale, resonating about 1000 times at lesser magnitudes in successive months. The initial aftershock
Aftershock
An aftershock is a smaller earthquake that occurs after a previous large earthquake, in the same area of the main shock. If an aftershock is larger than the main shock, the aftershock is redesignated as the main shock and the original main shock is redesignated as a foreshock...

 registered a 7 on the Mercalli scale and was felt throughout all of central Italy.

Pescina was completely leveled by the event. The victims were about 5,000 out of a total population of 6,000. The few who survived were generally badly injured and remained homeless since all of the buildings in town were destroyed. The earthquake completely isolated the area and news of the disaster was only learned of in the late afternoon. Rescuers left on the evening of the 13th, arriving only the day after because of the impassability of the roads caused by landslides and debris.

The seismic event brought to light the lack of preparedness of the Italian state. Eminio Sipari, deputy of the college of Pescina, protested that many victims probably would have been saved with proper precautions. The continuation of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, which had begun in autumn of 1914, brought troops to the region and secured the permanence of forces in the afflicted area.

The earthquake of 1915 created interest in the Appennini mountain chain which had not seen such disastrous earthquakes before 1915. Segments of the population which had no geological competence developed theories to explain the great earthquake, placing the blame on human activities in the area. In this case, it was the drainage of lake Fucino which was credited for causing the quake. However, such as the case with all other previous earthquakes, the great quake of 1915 was caused by the movement of and release of pent-up energy of an important tectonic fault.

Like most other areas of Italy, Pescina has a diaspora still extant in the New World. The families of Galli and Villanucci, which have had a presence in Pescina since at least 1880, have members in at least two American cities: Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

 and Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

.

Notable people

  • Cardinal Mazarin, the successor of Cardinal Richelieu to the regency of France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

  • Domenico Morfeo
    Domenico Morfeo
    Domenico Morfeo is a retired Italian football player, who played in the position of attacking midfielder or striker.-Career:...

    , footballer
  • Ignazio Silone
    Ignazio Silone
    Ignazio Silone was the pseudonym of Secondino Tranquilli, an Italian author and politician.-Early life and career:...

    , author
    Author
    An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

  • Luciano Zauri
    Luciano Zauri
    Luciano Zauri is an Italian footballer who plays for Lazio.-Atalanta:Zauri made his debut in Serie A in the 1996–97 season with Atalanta in a 4–0 loss at home to Roma....

    , footballer
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