Earthquake felt clearly in nearby Naples.
A 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck the Campi Flegrei area west of Naples in the early hours of Thursday morning, jolting residents from their sleep and prompting school closures.
The quake, recorded at 05.50 by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), had its epicentre in the Campi Flegrei caldera and a depth of three kilometres.
It was felt across the wider Neapolitan area, including the districts of Posillipo, Vomero, Bagnoli and Fuorigrotta, as well as in municipalities further to the west of the Campi Flegrei area.
In terms of intensity and duration, the tremor was compared to the quake of 30 June of the previous year – the strongest in 40 years, which had registered a magnitude of 4.6.
Thursday’s event is among the strongest recorded since the resurgence of bradyseismic activity in the area.
School closures
Reports flooded in from Pozzuoli – the nerve centre of the Campi Flegrei caldera – as well as from Bacoli, Monte di Procida, Quarto and Giugliano as well as areas of Naples.
The mayor of Bacoli announced the closure of all schools in the municipality to allow structural safety checks to be carried out. Similar measures were adopted in neighbouring Pozzuoli and Quarto.
Rail services were also temporarily suspended on the Cumana and Circumflegrea lines, which serve the Phlegraean area, pending static safety inspections.
There were no immediate reports of serious damage.
Bradyseism
The event forms part of the ongoing bradyseismic phenomenon that has affected Campi Flegrei for some time.
Campi Flegrei is a vast supervolcanic caldera lying beneath and around the western outskirts of Naples, centred on the town of Pozzuoli.
In recent years, earthquakes linked to the gradual uplift of the ground have become increasingly frequent and intense, with several tremors exceeding magnitude 4 recorded between 2024 and 2025.
The Campi Flegrei volcano last erupted in 1538, though earthquakes have been common in the area since 1950, with a surge of seismic unrest in the early 1980s. The zone is one of the most intensely monitored volcanic areas in Europe.
In 2024, following a significant escalation in seismic activity in the area, the Italian government allocated €500 million to reinforce buildings at risk as well as drawing up emergency plans for a possible mass evacuation.
