Baldo Area Seismic Activity: Insights from Geologist Enrico Castellaccio

“Earthquake is a sudden movement of the Earth’s crust that occurs along a fault, meaning a fracture in the Earth’s crust where blocks of rock move apart.” Enrico Castellaccio, a geologist by profession, is a knowledgeable expert of the Baldo and the surrounding areas.

Description of earthquakes and seismic zones

“On the Baldo, earthquakes are frequent; about two occur each day, but most of them are seismic events recorded only by instruments and not felt by the population,” he explains.

“However, these are tectonic events, related to the deformation of the Earth’s crust, affecting the entire Veronese territory. The hilly area of our province is, in fact, included within the Po Valley, which is pushed northward by the Apennines and the tectonic plate that constitutes Africa.”

Shear systems and affected areas

The Ala and Mori area, moreover, is the convergence point of two fault systems. The Gludicariense system, so called because it resembles the deformation of the Earth’s crust found in the Gludicarie Alps, runs roughly north-south beneath the Val d’Adige.

The other, called the Schedense system, from northwest to southeast, is a fault linking the municipalities of Vicenza, Schio, and extending up to the Val d’Adige. Another fault runs beneath Lake Garda.

Seismic impact and assessments

All this makes the high Val Lagarina and the Baldo areas particularly susceptible to seismic events, but, according to Castellaccio’s assessments, these are generally of minor severity.