Monument to the Russians in Sicily. How Russian sailors saved Italians Earthquakes in Sicily today

Messina is a wonderful jewel in the crown of Italian cities. It has an ancient history - the first mention of this settlement dates back to 730 BC. Located on the coastline of the Strait of Messina, the city became not only a trading center, but also the core of an entire agricultural region specializing in the cultivation of citrus crops.

In the history of the city there were many events that led to its decline, but Messina was restored and flourished again. One such tragic event for the city was the earthquake that occurred on December 28, 1908. By chance, Russian sailors became participants in the rescue operation.

After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, as a result of which the Russian navy was bled dry, the authorities were faced with the acute issue of training personnel to form the command staff of warships. For this purpose, in the spring of 1906, a special detachment of ships was formed, which included two battleships - Tsesarevich and Slava and the cruisers Bogatyr and Admiral Makarov. The command of the detachment was entrusted to Rear Admiral V.I. Litvinov. The ships housed trainees: 135 graduates of Peter the Great's naval corps, 23 mechanics, 6 graduates of an engineering institute and several students of quartermasters of the Baltic Fleet. Before the campaign, the detachment was visited by the Emperor, who called on the sailors to behave in an appropriate manner in overseas countries, since they are envoys of their Motherland.

In October 1908, the ships entered the Gulf of Finland and headed for the Mediterranean Sea, according to the exercise plan.
After completing the training missions of the campaign, on December 15, 1908, the detachment arrived in the Italian port of Augusta, located on the east coast of Sicily at a distance of about 70 miles from Messina.

On the morning of December 28, tremors occurred in Messina, which led to the displacement of sections of the bottom of the Strait of Messina. Huge waves suddenly hit the morning city. At the same time, three strong tremors occurred, which caused the collapse of buildings in almost twenty settlements located in the coastal strip of Sicily and Calabria.

The sailors of the Russian squadron were awakened by a powerful rumble, and then everyone heard blows on the ship’s hull. A huge wave burst into the port bay, turning the ships anchored in it 180 degrees. A few minutes later the situation returned to normal, only a slight disturbance was observed on the water surface.

In the evening of the same day, the captain of the port and the Russian consul A. Makeev approached the detachment commander with a request to provide assistance to the population of Messina, who found themselves practically at the epicenter of the earthquake. Having sent information about what happened to St. Petersburg, the detachment commander ordered the ships to prepare to sail to Messina.

During the transition, the sailors of the detachment prepared to provide emergency assistance to the victims: they formed rescue units, the groups were supplied with tools, food and water. Infirmaries were being prepared to receive victims. The doctors were supervised by an experienced doctor A. Bunge, who had good experience working in the extreme conditions of the Arctic.

When the ships arrived at the Messina roadstead, the sailors saw enormous destruction: all houses and port facilities were destroyed. The surviving residents, distraught with grief, pain, and loss of loved ones, asked for help. The cries of the wounded were heard from under the rubble, and numerous fires were observed in the city.

Russian sailors began clearing the rubble. The work was further complicated by the fact that tremors continued, and collapses in the rubble threatened the lives of sailors dismantling the remains of buildings.

Here is what Harald Karlovich Graf writes: << крейсер,Адмирал Макаров, первым поднял пары и вышел в море. Мы снялись с якоря ещё не имея достаточно паров во всех котлах и по этому шли средним ходом, но потом подняли до полного. Все только и говорили об этой катастрофе, но не представляли грандиозности разрушений и гибели такого количества людей. Во время перехода командир приказал докторам собрать все наличные перевязочные средства и со всем медицинским персоналом приготовится к съеду на берег. Кроме того, было приказано двум ротам надеть рабочие платье и высокие сапоги и приготовить верёвки, ломы, кирки и лопаты. Скоро на горизонте показались высокие столбы дыма, и чем ближе мы подходили к Мессине, тем ярче вырисовывались пожары и разрушения. В нескольких местах вырывалось пламя. Фактически весь город был разрушен.Всюду виднелись полуразрушенные дома. В гавани затонуло несколько пароходов, и их стенки покосились и дали трещины. Кое где на набережной виднелись люди, которые махали руками и что-то кричали. Очевидно звали на помощь. Перед командиром встал вопрос отдать ли якорь на рейде или войти в гавань. Если встать на рейде,далеко от берега, то нельзя оказать быструю и интенсивную помощь, а войдёшь в гавань- подвергнешься большому риску, так как несомненно,что её дно деформировалось… и тогда там застрянем. Но командир не долго колебался и решил рисковать и войти в гавань…Увидя входящий крейсер, на набережной стала собираться толпа обезумевших от пережитых ужасов жителей. Все кричали и размахивали руками, разобрать,что они кричат, мы не могли. Во всяком случае, они с большой готовность помогали нам завести швартовы и притащили большую сходню…
Our help turned out to be especially valuable because we were the first to arrive at the scene of the disaster. We didn't have to be persuaded. Both companies, doctors, paramedics and orderlies immediately went ashore. The latter immediately opened a sanitary station. And the companies divided into small groups and began excavations, as directed by local residents. The task arose to search for the living. But the help of the sailors was not limited to this. The wounded were taken onto the cruiser, given first aid, and prepared for transport to Naples. The news about the Russian rescuers quickly spread throughout the city, from all areas to the port, to the cruiser Makarov, they began to deliver the seriously wounded, they were placed on the deck and in the cabins. But more and more thousands of victims arrived; there was not enough money... from the family of the Russian consul in Messina, only one wife survived, seriously wounded, she was sent on the battleship, Tsarevich, to Syracuse. Meanwhile, the sailors remaining on the shore, risking their lives every moment, under the threat of new collapses, continued to dig out the rubble. The groans heard from under the ruins forced us to hurry, forgetting fatigue and fear for our lives. The pleas of relatives, whose loved ones were trapped under the rubble of buildings, only intensified the colossal stress in which our sailors and officers carried out their rescue work. When the order came in the evening to return to the cruiser, many initially disobeyed the order, continuing dangerous and hard work, on which the lives of hundreds and hundreds of Messinians then depended. >>

Medical assistance was provided at dressing stations deployed as quickly as possible. As it turned out later, this benefit saved the lives of many residents. Subsequently, the crews of the arriving English squadron joined the Russian rescuers.

There were not enough doctors or orderlies to help the victims of Messina, both on the shore and on the ships, and the officers and sailors themselves had to care for the wounded. Thus, the junior navigator officer of the battleship “Tsesarevich” Ivan Kononov 2nd provided significant assistance to the medical personnel, being able to make dressings. The Russian sailors carried the victims out from under the ruins to the medical stations created under canopies. Many of the wounded got here on their own. Tables were set up right in the open air, on which the ship's doctors, with the help of orderlies, provided them with first surgical aid, applied bandages, revived those who had lost consciousness, and performed operations. Although they were not thorough, they were timely, and this saved the lives of many victims.

Rescue teams worked around the clock. Russian sailors rescued more than two thousand victims from the rubble.

The wounded, sick, children and old people were taken on Russian ships to the nearest cities in Italy that were not damaged by the elements: Naples, Palermo and Syracuse. Returning to Messina, the ships delivered purchased provisions, dressings and disinfectants.

According to available information, as a result of the Messina earthquake, about 44% of the residents of the settlements that took the heaviest blows of the disaster died. This most powerful European earthquake claimed 100 thousand lives.

Subsequently, Italian doctors wrote a letter of gratitude to the Russian Minister of Maritime, in which they noted the dedicated work of the sailors and fraternal care for the victims of Messina, assuring him that Italy will forever remember the help of Russian sailors.

The Italian government awarded orders to doctors and ship commanders.

For participation in saving people, the Italian government awarded the following in 1910:

Rear Admiral Vladimir Litvinov - Grand Cross of the Order of the Italian Crown,
flagship doctor of the Baltic detachment Alexander Bunge - Grand Officer's Cross of the Order of the Italian Crown,
The Commander's Cross of St. Mauritius and Lazarus were awarded to: flag captain captain 2nd rank Kazimir Pogrebensky, commander of the battleship "Tsarevich" captain 1st rank Pavel Lyubimov, senior physician of the battleship "Tsesarevich" Nikolai Novikov, commander of the battleship "Slava" captain 1st rank Eduard Ketler, senior physician of the battleship "Slava" E. Emelyanov, commander of the cruiser "Bogatyr" captain 1st rank Nikolai Petrov 2nd, senior physician of the cruiser "Bogatyr" F. Glasko, commander of the cruiser "Admiral Makarov" captain 1st rank Vladimir Ponomarev, senior doctor of the cruiser "Admiral Makarov" Yu. Karuzhas,
The officer's cross of St. Mauritius and Lazarus were awarded to junior doctors: the battleship "Tsesarevich" - Adam Shishlo, the battleship "Slava" - Evgeniy Kallina, the cruiser "Bogatyr" - Pyotr Bachinsky, the doctor of the gunboat "Koreets" Nikolai Vostrosablin,
The Commander's Cross of the Order of the Italian Crown was awarded to: junior doctor of the cruiser "Admiral Makarov" - Vladimir Lubo, commander of the gunboat "Gilyak", captain 2nd rank Peter Paton-Fanton de Verraion, commander of the gunboat "Koreets" captain 2nd rank Fyodor Rimsky - Korsakov, doctor of the gunboat “Gilyak” Vladimir Goss.

Order of the Italian Crown (didn't bother with degrees)

Mauritius and Lazarus

More than 6 thousand military personnel and 300 doctors took part in the rescue operation. Only on January 3, local authorities, thanking the Russian military, notified them that they were now able to cope on their own. The detachment of Russian ships continued their journey: first to Augusta, and then to Alexandria.

Messina did not forget its saviors. Two years later, with money raised by the residents of Messina, a gold medal was cast, which it was decided to award to the Russian Navy, as well as a sculptural composition depicting Russian sailors rescuing people from the rubble of buildings.
These tokens of gratitude were presented to the commander of the cruiser Aurora, who arrived in Messina harbor in March 1911.

To this day, city residents keep the memory of the feat of Russian sailors. Many streets of Messina are named after Russian rescuers of the Baltic squadron. On the memorial plaque mounted on the municipal building in 1978, it is written that it was installed in memory of the generous assistance of the crews of Russian ships during the December earthquake in 1908.

A hundred years later, the Messinians celebrated this tragic date. The most touching thing is that the descendants of the residents remember the Russian sailors who came to the aid of the city’s population. Grateful Messinians still call Russian sailors “blue angels” - because they appeared unexpectedly from the sea and their uniform was blue.

In 1910, the Italian government decided to reward the participants in the rescue operation. By Royal Decree of June 5, 1910, the following were awarded:
- detachment commander - an order and a gold medal;
- ship commanders - orders and large silver medals with the inscription “For providing assistance to victims of the disaster in Messina and Calabria”;
- Russian Navy - a large gold medal;
- ships - large silver medals;
- all participants, without exception, received small silver medals with the inscription “In memory of the disaster that befell Messina and Calabria.”
The same awards were intended for other crews of foreign ships who took part in the rescue of the inhabitants of Messina.
Since the required number of medals was not ready, their presentation was postponed to 1911.
The cruiser "Aurora", which sailed in 1910-1911. practical navigation, at that time he was in the Mediterranean Sea. The command assigned the commander of the cruiser, Captain 1st Rank II.N. Leskov to visit the port of Messina and accept awards and gifts.
On March 1, 1911, the cruiser Aurora arrived in Messina. The next day, a solemn ceremony took place on board the ship, at which the Italian delegation presented P.N. Leskov:
- a large gold medal and an artistically executed thank-you address to the Russian fleet;
- large gold and silver medals for V.I. Litvinov;
- large silver medals for ship commanders;
- large silver medals and diplomas for ships;
- silver medals for all participants in the rescue operation;
- numerous gifts.

According to the Main Naval Staff, the following number of sailors of the Russian fleet took part in the rescue work in Messina:

– from the ships of the Baltic detachment: 113 officers, 164 ship midshipmen, 42 conductors and 2559 lower ranks;

- from the gunboats "Koreets" and "Gilyak", which joined the ships of the Baltic detachment: 20 officers, 4 conductors and 260 lower ranks.

Russian sailors were awarded silver six-line medals in memory of the Messina earthquake.

REPORT TO THE HIGHEST NAME
№ 629.
Requested
HIGHEST permission: To accept minted coins. By the Italian Government medals in memory of the disaster that befell Messina and Calabria at the end of 1908:

Gold:
TO THE IMPERIAL RUSSIAN Fleet
Former Chief of the Baltic Detachment, now Member of the Admiralty Council, Vice Admiral Litvinov

Silver:
Battleships:
"Glory" and its former commander, now retired Captain 1st Rank Ketler "Tsesarevich" and
to his former commander, Captain 1st Rank Lyubimov
To the cruiser "Bogatyr" and its commander Captain 1st Rank Petrov-Chernyshev
To the gunboats: "Korean" and its former commander, captain 1st rank
Rimsky-Korsakov 2nd
"Gilyak" and its former commander, Captain 1st Rank Patton-Fanton de Verraion,

so that those granted would wear the indicated medals, those granted to the Navy would be kept in the Marine Corps, and those granted to ships would be stored on ships until they were removed from the lists, and then transferred for further storage to the Marine Corps.
On the original, in the hand of the Minister of the Navy, it is written: “With your highest permission. In Tsarskoe Selo, May 16, 1911. Minister of the Navy, Vice Admiral Grigorovich.”

REPORT TO THE HIGHEST NAME
№ 650.
Requested
HIGHEST permission: to accept and wear silver medals.
The detachment commander, ship commanders, officers, officials, midshipmen and lower ranks - 3029 people.
Authorized: October 4, 1911

RELATIONSHIP OF THE SECOND DEPARTMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO THE MAIN NAVAL HEADQUARTERS.
September 21, 1911, No. 11677.
Conveying here in two sealed boxes 3170 Italian silver medals awarded to persons who provided assistance to victims of the earthquake in Sicily and Calabria in 1908, the Second Department has the honor to humbly ask the Main Naval Staff not to refuse to transfer 3163 of them to the ranks of the Naval Department named in the lists attached to the relations of the Main Naval Staff dated April 1, 1909, No. 6594 and dated April 3 of the same year, No. 6818, deigning to notify the Department about the correct receipt of the medals, with the return of the remaining 7 medals for transfer by the Department as appropriate.
At the same time, the Department forwards 143 certificates to be issued to the persons named in them, adding that certificates will not be issued to midshipmen and lower ranks by the Italian Government and that the award of such medals to awarded persons must be certified by the subject superiors.
Medals which, for any reason, cannot be presented to the persons to whom they were awarded, the Department, at the request of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, humbly requests that they be returned,
Participated in the rescue of the inhabitants of Messina:

Officers:
Baltic detachment 113, gunboats “Gilyak” and “Koreets” 20, total 133
Ship's midshipmen:
Baltic detachment 164, gunboats “Gilyak” and “Koreets” 0, total 164
Conductors:
Baltic detachment 42, gunboats “Gilyak” and “Koreets” 4, total 46
Lower ranks:
Baltic detachment 2559, gunboats “Gilyak” and “Koreets” 260, total 2819
Total:
Baltic detachment 2878, gunboats “Gilyak” and “Koreets” 284, total 3162

Russian sailors wore Messinian medals on both pentagonal and triangular blocks - as they could and wanted.

Russian pentagonal block with six-line Messinian medal

A sailor from the "Bogatyr" with a medal for Messina on a triangular block

What is the difference between Messina medals?

There were several different awards, each of which had its own varieties:
- for metal
gold-silver-bronze for four-line and silver-bronze for commemorative six-line;
- to size
40mm for legal entities (ships, organizations) and 35mm (four lines) and 32mm (six lines) for individuals and people.

I. Four-line
Medaglia di benemerenza per il terremoto calabro-siculo

Medal of Merit during the earthquake in Calabria and Sicily on December 28, 1908
Established in Rome on May 6, 1909 in two forms:
Diameter
4 cm for institutions
3.5 cm for people
Degrees: gold, silver, bronze

Inscription on the reverse in four lines"Terremoto 28 December 1908 in Calabria and Sicilia"

In addition, there were differences in the medal ribbon. From May 6 to October 21, the ribbon was green with 6 mm red stripes along the edges. Royal Decree No. 719 of October 21, 1909 introduced a decree that the color of the edgings became white.

The commanders of Russian ships received small gold, the fleet and ships received large gold.

Plus, the ship commanders were awarded a commemorative six-line silver medal (see below).

II. Six-line memorial.
The later La medaglia commemorativa per il terremoto calabro-siculo
The "Earthquake Medal of Calabria and Sicily" was established by Royal Decree No. 79 of 20 February 1910 to recognize the work of the relief efforts in the areas devastated by the earthquake of 28 December 1908. The medal was issued free of charge, at the expense of the state, to foreigners [incl. officers and sailors of the Russian Imperial Navy from the ships "Tsesarevich", "Slava", "Admiral Makarov", "Bogatyr" and gunboats "Gilyak II" and "Koreets II"], for soldiers of the royal army and navy, law enforcement officers city and members of the Italian Red Cross Association participating in the relief efforts of the earthquake of December 28, 1908 in Calabria and Sicily.

The medal was made in a single size from silver and bronze with a diameter of 32 mm.
Only people were awarded the six-line commemorative card.

Inscription on the reverse in six lines: “Medaglia commemorativa - Terremoto calabro-siculo 28 December 1908”

With the ribbon on this medal, everything is also not entirely simple.
The medal was worn on the left chest on a blue silk ribbon 33 mm wide, with a vertical white stripe in the center 11 mm wide.

By Royal Decree No. 497 of July 7, 1910, the ribbon was changed. Now it has become green, 36 mm wide, with three vertical white stripes, six mm wide. This option is the most common.

Russian sailors received a small commemorative silver - a six-line Messinian medal.

The author of the silver six-line Messinian medals is Luigi Giorgi (Italian: Luigi Giorgi, 1848-1912) - goldsmith, chief engraver of the Royal Mint in Rome and the first director-professor of the School of Medal Art.
The six-line bronze shown above is in the S.J. neck trim. (S.Johnson company) - Stefan Johnson, Milan.

But the Italians could receive and wear two medals at once - directly for participation in the liquidation - a four-line and a commemorative six-line, and silver and bronze.
The Italian's first award was the Order of the Italian Crown.

The Messina earthquake (Italian: Terremoto di Messina) with a magnitude of 7.5 occurred on December 28, 1908 in the Strait of Messina between Sicily and the Apennine Peninsula. As a result, the cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria were destroyed. This earthquake is considered the strongest in the history of Europe.
The earthquake began at about 5:20 am on December 28 at sea, at the bottom of the Strait of Messina. The tremors caused a shift in sections of the bottom, after which three tsunami waves up to three meters high hit Messina at intervals of 15-20 minutes. In the city itself, three strong impacts occurred within one minute; after the second, buildings began to collapse. In total, more than twenty settlements in the coastal strip of Sicily and Calabria were affected by the earthquake. Aftershocks continued in January 1909. There are different estimates of the total number of deaths, with the maximum figure being 200,000. The most often cited figures are 70,000-100,000 people, including 60,000 in Messina, whose population was about 150,000 people. In two villages on the eastern coast (in Calabria), 43.7% of the inhabitants died.
The first to arrive in Messina were the ships of the Baltic Fleet “Tsesarevich”, “Slava” and “Admiral Makarov” and a little later “Bogatyr” under the command of Rear Admiral Litvinov. The Russian ships were part of a training detachment sailing in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to the main crews, another 166 midshipmen—graduates of the Naval Cadet Corps—were on board the ships for internship.
Rear Admiral Andrei Avgustovich Eberhard

On July 27 (14), 1908, A. Ebergard handed over the detachment to Rear Admiral Vladimir Ivanovich Litvinov, who immediately began preparing him for overseas voyages to undergo practice with midshipmen. 2 routes were developed taking into account the political situation in European countries, one of which (No. 2) was approved (on the first route the return to Libau was planned on April 28 (15), and on the second on April 10 (March 28), 1909. Minister of Naval Admiral I.M. Dikov on September 2 (August 20) gave the order to the detachment to return by April 3 (March 21), so the first route was rejected). Regarding the detachment’s entry into Italian ports, a response was received from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which stated that: “...The Italian Government does not encounter any obstacles to the entry and stay of our squadron in Italian waters, adding that the quality of the port of Augusta is considered better than Syracuse.” . According to the initially approved plan, the detachment was supposed to enter Syracuse (a city in the southeast of Sicily, the center of maritime trade).
"Admiral Makarov"

In Kronstadt, a new shift of trainees was received, consisting of 135 naval midshipmen of the naval corps (now the Naval Institute - Naval Corps of Peter the Great), produced on May 19 (6), 1908, 23 naval midshipmen-mechanics and 6 naval midshipmen-shipbuilders of the engineering school (now Naval Engineering Institute named after A. N. Krylov), as well as students of combat non-commissioned officers (students of quartermasters) of the Baltic Fleet, and on July 22 (9) they went on a practical voyage in the Gulf of Finland.
The expected inclusion of the cruiser "Oleg", which was part of the Guards crew, into the detachment did not happen.
In the center - "Admiral Makarov", on the left - "Oleg" and "Bogatyr"

The ship had an accident on October 10 (September 27) at the Steinorth lighthouse on the way to Libau (ran aground). The cruiser "Admiral Makarov" was appointed to replace it (later the issue was discussed with the Minister of Naval Affairs about the inclusion of the cruiser "Oleg" after repair by the 5th ship in the detachment). The midshipmen who were on the cruiser "Oleg" were distributed among other ships, which worsened the conditions of service and life of all midshipmen in the detachment due to their increase on each ship, which was not adapted for this. On October 3 (September 20), 1908, the midshipman detachment received the Highest Visit from the Sovereign Emperor Nicholas II at the Biorke roadstead. In his speech, the Sovereign Emperor called on the ship's midshipmen to remember that when visiting distant overseas countries they are representatives of His All-Russian Emperor and our glorious Motherland - Russia. “...Behave in a dignified manner in order to maintain the honor of the Russian name among the peoples of the countries that you will visit...” - this is how the Sovereign Emperor ended his speech.
October 7 (4), 1908 The Baltic midshipman detachment under the command of Rear Admiral V.I. Litvinov, consisting of the battleships “Tsesarevich” and “Slava”, as well as the cruiser “Bogatyr”, left Libau and set off on a training voyage to the Mediterranean Sea in accordance with the approved plan.
"Tsesarevich"

On November 3 (October 20), the ships of the detachment arrived at the port of Vigo, located on the Atlantic coast of northwestern Spain. Due to good weather, all kinds of raid exercises and exercises were carried out on the detachment's ships, especially important during the first period of the voyage after very large changes in the composition of the ships' crews (this was explained by the lack of officers due to the death of many during the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and the resignation of a large number of officers who did not see anything bright for the fleet in the future. There were few of them left in the service and for the most part they were young officers obliged to serve for their education). During the same period, sailing officer competitions (races) took place in a fresh squally wind, due to which some of the boats did not finish the race. The whaleboat from the battleship "Slava", which won the first prize, capsized after completing the distance, but its crew was picked up by approaching boats. On Sunday, November 15 (2), flags and jacks were lowered on the ships of the detachment in connection with the news of the death of the Grand Duke, Admiral General Alexei Alexandrovich. Upon notification of the coastal authorities about the reason for mourning, the flags were lowered at half-staff on the ships and vessels of the Spanish fleet stationed in the harbor and roadstead, as well as at the fortress. A solemn funeral service was held on the ships of the detachment.
Admiral Makarov in Messene

On December 12 (November 30), a detachment of four ships led by the Tsarevich left Bizerte and on December 14 (1), 1908, arrived at the port of Augusta (the eastern coast of the island of Sicily, 70 miles south of Messina). The parking lot in the port of Augusta was used for all sorts of exercises and activities according to the competition and shooting program. The Italian Navy used Augusta for practical and live firing.
On December 28 (15), 1908, the detachment, after practicing joint navigation and performing artillery training exercises, anchored in the port of Augusta. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, a powerful rumble was heard. The hulls of the ships began to tremble, as if they were being hammered with a hefty club. A huge wave burst into the bay and turned the anchored ships almost 360 degrees. After a few minutes the noise stopped, although the excitement continued for some time. The detachment sounded a combat alarm, but, having made sure that the ships were in order and were not in danger, they gave up.
In the evening, from Catania (a city and port on the eastern coast of the island of Sicily, at the foot of Mount Etna, the administrative center of the province of Catania), the port captain and Russian vice-consul A. Makeev arrived to the detachment commander V. Litvinov, who was holding the flag on the Tsesarevich. They reported that the day before, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 with an epicenter in the Strait of Messina occurred in southwestern Italy in Sicily and Southern Calabria.
Earthquake area

The cities of Messina, Reggio Calabria and 40 other surrounding villages were completely destroyed. Under their ruins and in three huge sea waves (which came one after another a few minutes after the start of the tremors), tens of thousands of people died, and significant changes occurred in the outlines of the shores of the Strait of Messina and its bottom.

The port commander handed V. Litvinov a telegram from the prefect of Syracuse, in which he asked “the friendly nation not to refuse assistance to the population.”

The detachment commander telegraphed what had happened to St. Petersburg and, without waiting for an answer, gave the command to the ships to prepare for the campaign. On the night of December 29 (16), V. Litvinov ordered the detachment to weigh anchor and proceed to Messina to help the affected residents of the city. The cruiser "Bogatyr" was left in the port of Augusta for communication.
Messina (Italian Messina, Sic. Missina, Latin Messana, Greek Μεσσήνη) is a city in the Italian region of Sicily, the administrative center of the province of the same name. The third largest city on the island of Sicily.
The patron saint of the city is Madonna della Lettera. The city holiday is June 3.
Palace built by Gino Coppede. 1900

Messina is located in the north of Sicily, on the western shore of the Strait of Messina, separating the island from mainland Italy (Calabria region).
Victor Emmanuel Avenue before the earthquake

Messina is 90 km from Catania, the distance to Palermo is 230 km. The city stretches for 30 km along the Strait of Messina, on land it is framed by the Peloritan Mountains.
Messina before the earthquake

The city center is considered to be an area occupying 10 km, which is located between the Annunziata and San Filippo rivers, currently hidden under the streets. The port of Messina (of military and commercial importance) is located in a natural bay of the Ionian Sea.
Harbor panorama

Thanks to maritime trade, Messina reached its peak in the 15th century and was so rich in the 17th century that it laid claim to the eastern part of Sicily and even tried to secede from Spain with the support of the French king Louis XIV.
Cathedral on Via Settembre

Although Messina did not gain independence and was destroyed during the earthquake of 1783, the city recovered again and was among the first to participate in the Italian Risorgimento in the 19th century.
Neptune Fountain

Messina is a very ancient city, which has experienced periods of prosperity and decline more than once in its history. It is separated from the Italian mainland by the narrow Strait of Messina. An ancient Greek legend says that the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis lived in this strait. Charybdis sank ships off the Sicilian side, and Scylla killed sailors off the Italian coast. In one of his wanderings around the Mediterranean, Odysseus (in Greek mythology, the king of Ithaca, a participant in the siege of Troy, the main character of the Odyssey. He was famous for his intelligence, cunning, resourcefulness and courage) managed to successfully pass the strait. And since then the expression “to be between Scylla and Charybdis” has appeared, i.e. choose between two dangers.

In 1860 Messina was liberated by the troops of Giuseppe Garibaldi. The catastrophic earthquake of December 28, 1908, when almost 70 thousand residents died, turned out to be a real blow for the city; almost all medieval buildings were destroyed. Messina was restored, but the city was again damaged by American bombing in 1943.
Photos of Messina before the disaster

During the transition, emergency preparations were made for rescue operations. To land on shore, the ship's crews were divided into shifts. Rescue teams were formed and supplied with entrenching tools, water and food. Already in the sea, a mass of floating debris of buildings, boats and fishing boats was discovered. All of them were washed out to sea or torn from their anchors by a near-bottom wave that hit the city with a cyclopean almost 5 m height.
The weather deteriorated, a few hours later a glow appeared ahead of the detachment, Messina was burning. On the morning of December 29 (16), the ships of the detachment arrived at the Messina roadstead. A terrible picture was revealed to the sailors' eyes.

The resort town, famous for its exquisite architecture and beautiful embankment, presented a terrifying picture of total destruction. Fires were burning in many places. Small ships washed up by the waves lay on the shore, the embankment and port facilities were destroyed.

A telegram from Rear Admiral V. Litvinov to the Minister of the Navy read: “Messina, many cities on the coast of Sicily and the Calabrian coast are completely destroyed, the population in panic buried and wounded number in the thousands, point the teams are busy digging out people, we are providing assistance to the victims, point today I am sending the cruiser Admiral Makarov to take Naples four hundred wounded . 2495. Signed by Litvinov.”
Panorama of Messina with Russian ships in the roadstead

Rescue teams were immediately sent from the ships to the shore, including rescuers, doctors and orderlies. Having loaded medicines, surgical instruments, stretchers into longboats, steam and motor boats, sailors, doctors and orderlies moved to the shore at 8:30 am.

What the sailors saw on the shore exceeded all the gloomiest forecasts. A destroyed water supply system, a complete lack of food and medicine - this is how Messina appeared to the rescuers. From under the ruins came the groans and cries of the wounded, and thousands of half-dressed city residents, distraught with grief and pain, crowded at the water's edge. As one of the eyewitnesses of the tragedy recalled: “...They stretched out their hands to us, mothers raised their children, praying for salvation...”.
Ruins of residential buildings

The city, or what was left of it, was divided into sections and streets, and each group was given the task of searching for the living. The surviving people, most of them half naked and insane, needed urgent medical care, food and heating. But the first task was to save people buried in the rubble of buildings.
Sailors from the Russian battleship Slava help clear debris

Without wasting time, the sailors began clearing the rubble and rescuing people buried in the houses closest to the embankment. We were guided by the screams and moans of people coming from the ruins.
Sailors clearing debris

Dressing stations and a kind of “hospital” were immediately organized, to which the wounded began to be transferred. This “hospital” and dressing stations were organized by the flagship doctor of the Baltic detachment, actual privy councilor Alexander Alexandrovich Bunge, a former famous polar traveler. He was helped in this by: junior ship doctor of the battleship "Tsesarevich" collegiate assessor Adam Aleksandrovich Shishlo, senior ship doctor of the battleship "Slava" collegiate assessor Evgeny Vyacheslavovich Emelyanov, junior ship doctor of the cruiser "Admiral Makarov" court adviser doctor of medicine Vladimir Kazimirovich Lubo, senior ship's doctor of the cruiser "Bogatyr" collegiate adviser Florian Frantsevich Glasko, senior ship's doctor of the battleship "Tsesarevich" collegiate adviser Nikolai Novikov, junior ship's doctor of the battleship "Slava" collegiate assessor Evgeniy Kallina, junior ship's doctor of the cruiser "Bogatyr" collegiate assessor Pyotr Bachinsky, senior ship doctor of the cruiser "Admiral Makarov", collegiate adviser Yuri Karuzhas. Upon the arrival of the gunboats "Koreets" and "Gilyak" in the Bay of Messina, they were joined by the ship's doctors of these ships: collegiate assessor Nikolai Vostrosablin and collegiate adviser Vladimir Goss, respectively. It should be noted that N. Vostrosablin was the first doctor created in Kronstadt in 1904 on the eve of the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905. the first formation of the first submarines. It was he who developed the first instruction “On sanitary measures on submarines.”
Providing assistance to local residents

There were not enough doctors or orderlies to help the victims of Messina, both on shore and on ships, and the officers and sailors themselves had to care for the wounded. Thus, the junior navigator officer of the battleship “Tsesarevich” Ivan Kononov 2nd provided significant assistance to the medical personnel, being able to make dressings. The Russian sailors carried the victims out from under the ruins to the medical stations created under canopies. Many of the wounded got here on their own. Tables were set up right in the open air, on which the ship's doctors, with the help of orderlies, provided them with first surgical aid, applied bandages, revived those who had lost consciousness, and performed operations. Although they were not thorough, they were timely, and this saved the lives of many victims.

The victims mainly had both closed injuries (bruises, wounds and ruptures of soft tissues, damage to bones and joints, closed bone fractures, dislocations) and open injuries, wounds accompanied by a violation of the integrity of the skin, burns of various degrees. The seriously injured had multiple rib fractures. Fear gave rise to shock, collapse, traumatic neurosis.
Earthquake victims

And in the streets and vacant lots the wounded lay and crawled. Maddened by the experience, tattered, half-naked people wandered through the ruins, looking for their relatives and calling for their children.
Russian sailors carry the bodies of victims

Perhaps the most difficult work, both physically and mentally, was dismantling the ruins.
Removing bodies from the rubble

The stench, the cadaverous smell, the mutilated bodies of the dead, but already on the first day more than a hundred people were saved.
Italian sailors carry the wounded

At noon, the ships of the English squadron arrived, which, fortunately, also found themselves not far from the distressed city. British sailors deployed camp kitchens and helped restore order in the fight against robbers and looters. Crews from the ships of the English squadron joined the Russian sailors in rescuing the victims.

The excavations were carried out with great danger for the rescuers themselves. From time to time, tremors were felt, threatening further collapse of buildings.

Clearing rubble

From the presentation of the commander of the battleship “Tsesarevich” to the detachment commander, Rear Admiral V. Litvinov: “...The senior mechanic of the ship entrusted to me, Staff Captain Fedorov, while digging out a man buried in the ruins of a house in Messina, exposed his life to very serious danger by selflessly crawling into the dug cave , and being covered by a collapse, he was saved by chance only because the neighboring wall collapsed in the other direction. If the wall collapsed towards the destroyed house, the cave in which Staff Captain Fedorov was located would not have been able to withstand it, and he would have been crushed. For such a selfless and philanthropic act, I ask Your Excellency to petition him to award him a medal for saving the perishing. Raid of the city of Vigo on February 11, 1909. Commander of the battleship “Tsesarevich,” captain 1st rank Lyubimov.”
American sailors are trying to discover the bodies of the American consul and his wife among the ruins

From the report of the commander of the Baltic detachment, Rear Admiral V. Litvinov, to the Chief of the Main Naval Staff: “...I ask for Your Excellency’s petition to award the senior mechanical engineer of the ship “Tsesarevich”, staff captain Fedorov, with the medal “For saving the dead” of the 4th degree. Vigo February 13, 1909. Head of the Baltic detachment, Rear Admiral V. Litvinov.”

The change of teams took place after six hours, but many still refused to take a well-deserved rest. The Italians said about Russian sailors: “The sky itself sent them to us, not the sea!” Russian ships took 400-500 victims on board and took them to Syracuse, Naples and Taranto. The battleship "Slava" with 600 wounded, women and children on board left for Naples with the order, after the transfer of people, to immediately return to Messina, purchasing only disinfectants, dressings and fresh provisions.
Homeless residents of Messina

From Litvinov’s telegram to the Minister of the Navy dated December 31 (18), sent from Naples: “...Today, the King and Queen of Italy, who arrived in Messina, visited the ships “Tsesarevich” and “Slava” and thanked the population for their help. The disaster is terrible. There are few means to save those buried. There were at least 50,000 dead in Messina alone, not counting those carried out to sea by the waves. The work of all the personnel of the detachment entrusted to me is beyond praise.”

From a letter to the Minister of the Navy from Bari, received on January 7, 1909 (new style): “Your Excellency! Allow us to add our voices to the universal chorus of blessings emanating from the depths of the hearts of the Italian nation for the feats of heroism shown by your valiant sailors in the terrible disaster that befell our homeland. We came to Naples on your beautiful cruiser "Admiral Makarov", heading to Messina in order to look for our relatives there. We are unable to describe to Your Excellency all the more than brotherly cares with which the commander of this ship and all his officers surrounded us. At the scene of the disaster, we witnessed the superhuman feats of these divine heroes, who seemed to have descended to us from heaven. The memory of these exploits will never be erased from our hearts. Russian sailors inscribed their names in golden letters for the eternal gratitude of all of Italy, and we would be deeply grateful to Your Excellency if you would deign to express on your behalf the commander and the entire crew of the cruiser "Admiral Makarov" our endless gratitude and eternal devotion; especially since the commander of this cruiser, due to his incomprehensible modesty (even greater than his kindness), did not want to listen to our heartfelt gratitude. May Your Excellency understand our feelings better than we can express them in words, since no word can convey the enormity of the exploits of these heroes. Long live Russia! Sincerely dedicated to Your Excellency, Dr. Constantino Sciorci and Dr. Antonio De Vicaris."
On March 1 (14), the cruiser Aurora entered Messina harbor to the sounds of an orchestra. Russian and Italian flags were flying everywhere. The embankment was filled with jubilant people. Representatives of the city authorities arrived on board the ship. They presented the commander with a commemorative gold medal, a panel depicting Russian sailors saving the inhabitants of long-suffering Messina, and a thank-you address. It contained the lines: “To you, the glorious sons of the noble land, whose heroism will go down in history, the first to rush to the aid of those who were threatened with certain death from the rage of the elements...”.
The Italian government rewarded those involved in the rescue. Rear Admiral Litvinov was awarded the Grand Cross of the Italian Crown, and ship commanders and doctors were awarded Commander's Crosses. And everyone, without exception, received the “Commemorative Medal for the Earthquake in Calabria-Sicily on December 28, 1908.”
Charity stamps from different countries issued in favor of the people of Messina

The gratitude of the residents of Messina to the Russian sailors for the great sense of compassion shown in their selfless help cannot be overestimated. They said that when one Russian naval officer, a participant in the “Messinian days,” after the revolution of 1917 accidentally found himself in Sicily without means of subsistence, the inhabitants of the island, seeing his silver medal with a white and green ribbon, through the municipality offered him a lifelong pension and small house with a vineyard. The events of a century ago are not forgotten. Russian sailors are still talked about today in history lessons in Italian schools. In the new areas of the current “greater Messina”, which were formerly outlying villages, like the whole city, lying in ruins after the earthquake, you can find signs with the names “Street of Russian Sailor Heroes of 1908”, “Street of Russian Sailors”, “Street of Russian Sailors” Baltic squadron."
As for the sailors themselves... Upon returning to St. Petersburg, Emperor Nicholas II, shaking hands with the squadron commander, Rear Admiral Litvinov, expressed his assessment of the sailors’ actions: “You, admiral, have done more with your sailors in a few days than my diplomats have done in all my reign…"
Handing over by members of the Messina Municipality a diploma and a gold medal “for dedication and philanthropy.” Board of the Kyrgyz Republic Aurora, March 12, 1911

Awards for participation in the rescue of the inhabitants of Messina during the earthquake

The strongest earthquakes throughout human history have caused colossal material damage and caused a huge number of casualties among the population. The first mention of tremors dates back to 2000 BC.
And despite the achievements of modern science and the development of technology, no one can still predict the exact time when the elements will strike, so quick and timely evacuation of people often becomes impossible.

Earthquakes are natural disasters that kill the most people, much more than, for example, hurricanes or typhoons.
In this rating we will talk about the 12 most powerful and destructive earthquakes in human history.

12. Lisbon

On November 1, 1755, a powerful earthquake occurred in the capital of Portugal, the city of Lisbon, later called the Great Lisbon Earthquake. A terrible coincidence was that on November 1 - All Saints' Day, thousands of residents gathered for mass in the churches of Lisbon. These churches, like other buildings throughout the city, could not withstand the powerful shocks and collapsed, burying thousands of unfortunates under their rubble.

Then a 6-meter tsunami wave rushed into the city, covering the surviving people rushing in panic through the streets of destroyed Lisbon. The destruction and loss of life were colossal! As a result of the earthquake, which lasted no more than 6 minutes, the tsunami it caused and numerous fires that engulfed the city, at least 80,000 residents of the Portuguese capital died.

Many famous figures and philosophers touched on this deadly earthquake in their works, for example, Immanuel Kant, who tried to find a scientific explanation for such a large-scale tragedy.

11. San Francisco

On April 18, 1906, at 5:12 am, powerful tremors shook sleeping San Francisco. The force of the tremors was 7.9 points and as a result of the strongest earthquake in the city, 80% of the buildings were destroyed.

After the first count of the dead, authorities reported 400 victims, but later their number increased to 3,000 people. However, the main damage to the city was caused not by the earthquake itself, but by the monstrous fire it caused. As a result, more than 28,000 buildings throughout San Francisco were destroyed, with property damage amounting to more than $400 million at the exchange rate of that time.
Many residents themselves set fire to their dilapidated houses, which were insured against fire, but not against earthquakes.

10. Messina

The largest earthquake in Europe was the earthquake in Sicily and Southern Italy, when on December 28, 1908, as a result of powerful tremors measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale, according to various experts, from 120 to 200,000 people died.
The epicenter of the disaster was the Strait of Messina, located between the Apennine Peninsula and Sicily; the city of Messina suffered the most, where practically not a single surviving building remained. A huge tsunami wave, caused by tremors and amplified by an underwater landslide, also caused a lot of destruction.

Documented fact: rescuers were able to pull two exhausted, dehydrated, but alive children from the rubble, 18 days after the disaster struck! The numerous and extensive destructions were caused primarily by the poor quality of buildings in Messina and other parts of Sicily.

Russian sailors of the Imperial Navy provided invaluable assistance to the residents of Messina. The ships as part of the training group sailed in the Mediterranean Sea and on the day of the tragedy ended up in the port of Augusta in Sicily. Immediately after the tremors, sailors organized a rescue operation and thanks to their brave actions, thousands of residents were saved.

9. Haiyuan

One of the deadliest earthquakes in human history was the devastating earthquake that struck Haiyuan County, part of Gansu Province, on December 16, 1920.
Historians estimate that at least 230,000 people died that day. The force of the tremors was such that entire villages disappeared into the faults of the earth’s crust, and large cities such as Xi’an, Taiyuan and Lanzhou were greatly damaged. Incredibly, strong waves formed after the disaster were recorded even in Norway.

Modern researchers believe that the death toll was much higher and totaled at least 270,000 people. At that time, this was 59% of the population of Haiyuan County. Several tens of thousands of people died from the cold after their homes were destroyed by the elements.

8. Chile

The earthquake in Chile on May 22, 1960, considered the strongest earthquake in the history of seismology, measured 9.5 on the Richter scale. The earthquake was so powerful that it caused tsunami waves more than 10 meters high, which covered not only the coast of Chile, but also caused enormous damage to the city of Hilo in Hawaii, and some of the waves reached the coasts of Japan and the Philippines.

More than 6,000 people died, most of whom were hit by the tsunami, and the destruction was unimaginable. 2 million people were left homeless and the damage amounted to more than $500 million. In some areas of Chile, the impact of the tsunami wave was so strong that many houses were carried away 3 km inland.

7. Alaska

On March 27, 1964, the most powerful earthquake in American history occurred in Alaska. The magnitude of the earthquake was 9.2 on the Richter scale and this earthquake was the strongest since the disaster struck Chile in 1960.
129 people died, of which 6 were victims of tremors, the rest were washed away by a huge tsunami wave. The disaster caused the greatest destruction in Anchorage, and tremors were recorded in 47 US states.

6. Kobe

The Kobe earthquake in Japan on January 16, 1995 was one of the most destructive in history. Tremors with a magnitude of 7.3 began at 05:46 am local time and continued for several days. As a result, more than 6,000 people died and 26,000 were injured.

The damage caused to the city's infrastructure was simply enormous. More than 200,000 buildings were destroyed, 120 of the 150 berths in the port of Kobe were destroyed, and there was no power supply for several days. The total damage from the disaster was about $200 billion, which at that time was 2.5% of Japan's total GDP.

Not only government services rushed to help the affected residents, but also the Japanese mafia - the Yakuza, whose members delivered water and food to those affected by the disaster.

5. Sumatra

On December 26, 2004, a powerful tsunami that hit the shores of Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other countries was caused by a devastating earthquake measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale. The epicenter of the tremors was in the Indian Ocean, near the island of Simeulue, off the northwestern coast of Sumatra. The earthquake was unusually large; the earth's crust shifted at a distance of 1200 km.

The height of the tsunami waves reached 15-30 meters and, according to various estimates, from 230 to 300,000 people became victims of the disaster, although the exact number of deaths is impossible to calculate. Many people were simply washed into the ocean.
One of the reasons for such a number of victims was the lack of an early warning system in the Indian Ocean, with which it was possible to inform the local population of the approaching tsunami.

4. Kashmir

On October 8, 2005, the worst earthquake to hit South Asia in a century occurred in the Pakistani-controlled region of Kashmir. The strength of the tremors was 7.6 on the Richter scale, which is comparable to the San Francisco earthquake in 1906.
As a result of the disaster, according to official data, 84,000 people died, according to unofficial data, more than 200,000. Rescue efforts have been hampered by military conflict between Pakistan and India in the region. Many villages were completely wiped off the face of the earth, and the city of Balakot in Pakistan was completely destroyed. In India, 1,300 people became victims of the earthquake.

3. Haiti

On January 12, 2010, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale occurred in Haiti. The main blow fell on the capital of the state - the city of Port-au-Prince. The consequences were terrible: almost 3 million people were left homeless, all hospitals and thousands of residential buildings were destroyed. The number of victims was simply enormous, according to various estimates from 160 to 230,000 people.

Criminals who had escaped from a prison destroyed by the elements poured into the city; cases of looting, robberies and robberies became frequent on the streets. Material damage from the earthquake is estimated at 5.6 billion dollars.

Despite the fact that many countries - Russia, France, Spain, Ukraine, the USA, Canada and dozens of others - provided all possible assistance in eliminating the consequences of the disaster in Haiti, more than five years after the earthquake, more than 80,000 people still live in improvised camps for refugees.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and this natural disaster has dealt an irreparable blow to the economy and living standards of its citizens.

2. Earthquake in Japan

On March 11, 2011, the strongest earthquake in Japanese history occurred in the Tohoku region. The epicenter was located east of the island of Honshu and the strength of the tremors was 9.1 on the Richter scale.
As a result of the disaster, the nuclear power plant in the city of Fukushima was severely damaged and power units at reactors 1, 2, and 3 were destroyed. Many areas became uninhabitable as a result of radioactive radiation.

After underwater tremors, a huge tsunami wave covered the coast and destroyed thousands of administrative and residential buildings. More than 16,000 people died, 2,500 are still considered missing.

The material damage was also colossal - more than $100 billion. And given that the complete restoration of the destroyed infrastructure may take years, the amount of damage may increase several times.

1. Spitak and Leninakan

There are many tragic dates in the history of the USSR, and one of the most famous is the earthquake that shook the Armenian SSR on December 7, 1988. Powerful tremors in just half a minute almost completely destroyed the northern part of the republic, capturing the territory where more than 1 million inhabitants lived.

The consequences of the disaster were monstrous: the city of Spitak was almost completely wiped off the face of the Earth, Leninakan was severely damaged, more than 300 villages were destroyed and 40% of the republic’s industrial capacity was destroyed. More than 500 thousand Armenians were left homeless, according to various estimates, from 25,000 to 170,000 residents died, 17,000 citizens remained disabled.
111 states and all republics of the USSR provided assistance in the restoration of destroyed Armenia.

Messina is a wonderful jewel in the crown of Italian cities. It has an ancient history - the first mentions of this settlement date back to 730 BC. Located on the coastline of the Strait of Messina, the city became not only a trading center, but also the core of an entire agricultural region specializing in the cultivation of citrus crops.

In October 1908, the ships entered the Gulf of Finland and headed for the Mediterranean Sea, according to the exercise plan.

Not far from the coast of Spain, classes and exercises were conducted on ships, the main purpose of which was to train new recruits for officers who had no practical experience.

After completing the training missions of the campaign, on December 15, 1908, the detachment arrived in the Italian port of Augusta, located on the east coast of Sicily at a distance of about 70 miles from Messina.

Rescue teams worked around the clock. Russian sailors rescued more than two thousand victims from the rubble.

The Italian government awarded orders to doctors and ship commanders: Litvinov received the Grand Cross of the Italian Crown and a gold medal, the rest silver medals and Commander's Crosses. In memory of the commonwealth, all sailors were awarded silver medals.

Messina did not forget its saviors. Two years later, with money raised by the residents of Messina, a gold medal was cast, which it was decided to award to the Russian Navy, as well as a sculptural composition depicting Russian sailors rescuing people from the rubble of buildings. These tokens of gratitude were presented to the commander of the cruiser Aurora, who arrived in Messina harbor in March 1910.

Years pass, but as long as the memory of the descendants of the Messinians is alive, St. Andrew's flag will fly more than once near the shores of this glorious city.

Materials used:
http://genocid.net/news_content.php?id=1611
http://humus.livejournal.com/2321946.html
http://humus.livejournal.com/2323524.html
http://secretworlds.ru/publ/6-1-0-1274

In the northeastern part of Sicily is the rich and populous city of Messina.

Directly opposite it, on the other side of the Strait of Messina, lies the coast of the Apennine Peninsula - its southwestern outskirts in the garden of Reggio. In this area, on both sides of the strait, earthquakes have occurred more than once. But never before had such a catastrophe occurred as the one that occurred in December 1908.

Early in the morning of December 28, when most of the residents were still carelessly sleeping, an earthquake occurred, which in a few minutes turned Messina, Reggio and a number of other neighboring towns into ruins.

We will not describe the earthquake itself in detail. It happened the same way as many others. Due to the shaking of the seabed, a huge wave was formed, which... as in Lisbon, it surged onto the shore, washed away and destroyed everything that remained undamaged by the earthquake. Part of the shore and embankment also fell into the sea. Immediately after the earthquake, fires began in different parts of the city, burning not only the remaining property, but also living people, buried in the rubble of buildings and unable to get out without outside help. We will now focus our attention on the disastrous fate of these unfortunates, wounded and maimed, buried under the ruins of their houses. Let us use the story of an eyewitness who came to Messina immediately after the earthquake and participated in excavations and providing assistance to the victims.

“On the morning of December 28, at 5:25 a.m., a large steamer approached the Strait of Messina. Suddenly the steamer trembled, shook all over, and was thrown from side to side, as if its car had suddenly broken down. This lasted for several moments. None of those on the ship understood what was happening. Having entered the strait, the ship was forced to stop: there was no way to go further. The entire strait was cluttered with broken barges, barges, barrels, overturned boats, boards, furniture, between which human figures could barely be seen here and there; they screamed and begged for help. In the distance, where Messina should have been, only red, twisting tongues of flame were visible in the darkness. A red glow fluttered in the sky.

It was dawn when I and the sailors of the ship approached Messina by boat. It took us a lot of work to make our way between floating planks, broken barges and other belongings. Near the shore, our boat hit its bottom hard against something hard. We drove around this place and docked. We walked along the shore to the place where our boat hit, and saw a whole row of freight cars in the clear sea water. They were on that part of the embankment that sank into the sea.

We entered the first street. Instead of houses, there were piles of rubble in the same regular rows as the houses had stood before. There were no more than 30 houses left in the entire city, but even entering them was very dangerous: there were terrible cracks in the walls and ceilings.

With difficulty we made our way through the piles of ruins. In some places there were four- and five-story walls that had survived from houses; some of them leaned heavily and threatened death to those passing by. In one place among the ruins, the corner of a six-story building stuck up alone. The length of each wall was no more than one meter; part of the floor survived on each floor. On the inner walls of the corner one could see paintings and photographs, and on the shelves there were plates and cups. On the third floor there was a small piano and a desk leaning against the wall.

We walked on. From the piles of ruins it has become difficult to determine the direction of the former streets. There were no houses. No streets! No Messina! Two large dogs, seeing us from afar, rushed to run - they were eating a crushed horse... And the piles of rubble that surrounded us were not dead: they lived a terrible life - a life that smelled of death. They shouted to thousands of voices, screaming for help. Moans and screams rushed towards us from all sides... It was raining... It was the agony of Messina. The dying fire sparkled here and there among the ruins, and screams could no longer be heard from there.

The ground shook slightly. This was enough for cracked, tilting houses and walls to fall down with thunder. Screams and screams grew louder from under the ruins. On a pile of rubble, near which stood a small part of a stone wall, we saw half-dressed people sitting silently in a group under one umbrella. It was a whole family - father, mother and two children. “Come with us,” the sailor invited them, “we will give you clothes and food. Let's go! " “No,” the mother answered sharply. “We don’t want to leave the house where my two sons are buried.” We want to die here."

She did not cry, spoke without moving, without looking at the sailor; her eyes looked blankly somewhere to the side. The sailor wanted to object, but he was interrupted by the father of the family. In his nightwear, he jumped to his feet and shouted wildly: “Let everyone die! Why should everyone live now? My two sons are dying here now.” And he sank back to his original place. We wanted to try to dig the children with our hands, but as soon as we approached the pile of stones and rubble, the father jumped up again and forcefully threw a huge stone at us, but missed. He was crazy. His wife and children did not move - they were so struck by the horror they had experienced. We walked away, and they sat silently, in a group, on the remains of their house under one umbrella.

The rain became quieter. We approached the ruins, where the groans were coming from, and began to throw away heavy stones with our hands. After four hours of work, we managed to extract two men and one girl from there. Their legs and arms were broken... Placing them on our shoulders, we silently moved back to our boat. Many boats with Russian and English sailors approached the shore. Military ships passing by lowered boats ashore to help the Messinians.

Work was in full swing. The sailors used shovels to dig out those buried. They worked until the evening. On the first day, up to a thousand wounded were dug out. There was no time, there was no strength to bury all the dead in the ground. They were laid right on the streets and they were in a hurry to free the living from the ruins. Some people quietly wandered among this horror, rummaged through the piles of rubble with their hands, looked for gold things and money, ransacked the dead, the wounded who could not rise.

It was pouring rain. It's starting to get dark. It was almost impossible to work and dig. Dogs ran in packs through the ruins; they ate the dead left on the streets. The rain accelerated the decomposition of the corpses. The smell of a corpse could already be heard. There was a smell of burning. We worked all night. The surviving Messinians hastily put together small sheds for themselves in the squares, in the middle of the streets, and settled there with their families.

The next day, in the morning, a small crowd of hungry Messinians attacked the tent where the soldiers' provisions were stored and recaptured it. Besides this, there was absolutely no food in all of Messina. Only in the evening of the second day did a steamer arrive, bringing bread. During the day the wind rose. The sea waves, as if wanting to intensify the horror, beat regularly and noisily against the shore and threw onto it the mutilated human bodies they had taken the day before. Soldiers with stretchers on their shoulders walked along the streets in an unbroken line, carrying the wounded to the ships.

From under the ruins there were still terrible screams, but there were fewer of them: some were dug up, others died.

Suddenly, from under one heap of rubble, we heard a weak child’s voice: “Dig me up! I've been here for a long time! I will die! Dig it quickly!”

We started digging. "Oh! You're hurting me!" - the boy shouted, pronouncing the words clearly; obviously he was not seriously injured. We started digging on the other side. Soon they dug up a small leg in a wooden shoe, and then the whole boy. He immediately jumped to his feet, shook himself off and began to cry, asking for food. He wasn't even injured. The boards accidentally fell over him, so that there was a space below where the boy could breathe freely and where he stayed for almost two days. He was taken to the ship. During these days, several thousand people were taken on ships to different cities in Italy.

While digging out one pile of ruins, we suddenly heard children’s voices, as if there, under this pile of stones, little guys were quarreling. They began to dig more carefully and soon dug up a broken cabinet that covered two little boys, three and five years old, and one girl, six years old. They lived here for three days. Along with them in the cupboard were sugar, figs and oranges. All of their oranges had just come out, and they were arguing over the last one at the time they were dug up. None of them were injured.

Days passed, and people lived under the stone rubble, they screamed, they moaned, but the voices of everyone who worked did not reach the ears, and many died of hunger or simply suffocated in their graves. Many were dug out alive after six to seven days of staying under heaps of stones, without a crumb of bread, on the ground wet from rain.

The Messina earthquake, in terms of its victims, was one of the most terrible ones known in human memory. The death toll from it reached 150 thousand.

The earthquake happened early in the morning, when most of the residents were still asleep and therefore did not have time to jump out of their houses. The light, loose soil on which the city of Messina was built also played a big role. Such soil, as we will see later, is especially conducive to the fact that large, multi-story buildings built on it crumble into dust at the very first tremors of the earth.

At the same time as Messina, the city of Reggio, which lay on the opposite coast of Italy, also perished. In the group of Aeolian Islands, located near Messina, two small islands completely disappeared during this earthquake, falling into the sea. Fortunately, both of these islands were uninhabited.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.