Quaternary normal faulting along the western side of the Matese Mountains (Central Apennines, Italy)

On December 29th, 2013 a Mw 5.0 earthquake affected the Matese region, bringing the attention to this high-seismic hazard area. Several strong earthquakes struck this region in the past (346 AD, 848 AD, 1293 M5.8, 1349 M6.6, 1456 M7.2, 1688 M7.0, 1805 M6.6). In spite of this high seismicity, the knowledge on the seismogenic sources is less defined than other seismic areas of Italy. In fact, only two fault systems in northern Matese were associated to strong historical earthquakes: the Isernia-Bojano-Guardiaregia and the Pozzilli – Capriati al Volturno (Aquae Iuliae) normal faults (Di Bucci et al., 2005 cum bibl.; Galli & Naso, 2009). In central and southern Matese there are not constrained active faults, and the seismogenic sources of the 346 AD and 1688 earthquakes are unknown. Moreover, GPS data show high extension rate across the Matese (4-5 mm/a across the Aquae Iuliae and Isernia-Bojano faults; Giuliani et al., 2009).