Reappraising the 25 February 1695 Asolano Earthquake

The 1695 Asolano earthquake (Mw 6.4) is the southernmost of the six largest earthquakes to have occurred in NE Italy or nearby (the others being: 1348, Mw 6.6, Eastern-Alps; 1511, Mw 6.3, Friuli-Slovenia; 1873, Mw 6.2, Alpago-Cansiglio; 1936, Mw 6.1, Alpago-Cansiglio; 1976, Mw 6.4, Friuli). The 1695 earthquake is generally associated with the Montello thrust, most recent studies locating it on the eastern slope of the Montello hill. A full-scale reappraisal of all available historical data leads this study to a more robust macroseismic localization of the 1695 earthquake and to open toward other possible locations of the seismic source that produced it. In particular, it becomes feasible to place its epicenter at the foothills of the Monte Grappa massif, the major morphological expression of the Bassano-Valdobbiadene thrust fault. Here we describe the reasons that make this fault a possible alternative to previous hypotheses.