A contribution to seismic hazard assessment of the Salento Peninsula (Apulia, Southern Italy)

The aim of this study is a critical revision of historical and recent seismicity of the Salento peninsula (Apulia, Southern Italy), offering an updated evaluation of its seismic hazard currently underestimated. This area is actually included in the least dangerous IV category of the Italian seismic classification. The Salento Peninsula was struck by the February 20, 1743 earthquake, considered as the strongest seismic event of this area. The reassessment of both the macroseismic effects on man-made structures, and the triggered effects in the natural environment has been carried out on the basis of archival documents and recent literature, according to the MCS and the ESI 2007 scale. The main result of our study has been the re-evaluation of the maximum intensity (Imax=XMCS) of the 1743 earthquake, besides new intensity values for some localities along the Apulian coasts