Città di carta e terremoti. L’iconografia della catastrofe in Basilicata (1851-1857)

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse extensive iconographic documentation relating to two major earthquakes that struck the province of Basilicata, in southern Italy, in 1851 and 1857. In both cases the damage was accurately represented in drawings, which provide valuable sources for understanding and analysing the region’s urban and architectural heritage. The graphic works created by artists, architects and the engineer-geologist Robert Mallet provide a fascinating cross-section of mid-19th-century Basilicata, which was characterised by an urban landscape shaped by frequent natural disasters and the transformations they brought about. The analysis and comparison of this iconographic documentation and descriptions are useful tools in the study of the region’s constructions, the interpretation of the slow pace of change, and the impact that earthquakes had on the identity of small towns.