why does Rome, Italy have such a high seismic risk (i need a specific answer)?

Question

volcanic or seimic. is it near any huge volcanoes or fault lines?


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Answer 1

Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius are both volcanoes in Italy.

In this case the African plate is trying to go SSW, the Middle Eastern plane is trying to go NNE while the Eurasian plate is trying to head East. Italy doesn't like on a major fault line, but with several volcanoes in the area there is a weakness in the crust at this point which can cause earthquakes.

Here is a list of volcanoes in Italy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_volcanoes_in_Italy
With 28 volcaneos I can see why Rome has an earthquake threat.

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes#USGS_list_of_significant_earthquakes
There was a major earthquake on:
January 8, 2006 11:34:52 UTC, 13:34:52 Local Time Southern Greece
see January 2006 Southern Greece earthquake
December 16, 1857 21:00 Naples, Italy (and Naples is not far from Rome.)
December 28, 1908 4:20 Messina & Reggio Calabria, Italy
November 23, 1980 19:34 Conza della Campania, Avellino, Italy

The North Anatolian Fault line is a major fault line near Italy
According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Anatolian_Fault_Zone
"The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) (Turkish: Kuzey Anadolu Fayı) is one of the most energetic earthquake zones in the world. Turkey is set on a minor tectonic plate which is being squeezed westwards as the Arabian and the Eurasian plates move together. The Anatolian Plate is grinding past the two plates at a rate between 1 and 20 cm per year. The NAF is a transform fault or right lateral strike-slip fault and crosses Turkey east to west. It is located about 20 km south of Istanbul."