A devastating earthquake occurred on 28 December 1908 in Sicily and Calabria, southern Italy with a moment magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme).

According to Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, the earthquake was caused by a large, low-angle SE-dipping, blind normal fault, lying mainly offshore in the Strait of Messina, between plates.

The team used data from 1907–1908 to examine the pattern of uplifts and subsidence observed in the Messina and Calabria area which bore a strong resemblance to those resulting from other powerful earthquakes triggered by normal faults.

[8] Records indicate that considerable seismic activity occurred in the areas around the Strait of Messina several months prior to 28 December; it increased in intensity beginning 1 November.

The probable source of the tsunami was off Giardini Naxos (40 km south of Messina) on the Sicilian coast where a large submarine landslide body with a headwall scarp was visible on a bathymetric map of the Ionian seafloor.

[10] A young doctor who escaped with his life later recounted that "the profound silence was broken by an extraordinary noise like the bursting of a thousand bombs, followed by a rushing and torrential rain."

"[19] Other survivors reported that there were three separate and different movements during the 37-second main shock: the first shaking backwards and forwards, the second thrusting violently upwards, with the third moving in a circular motion.

Most accounts concur that it was the second upwards motion that caused the widespread destruction in Messina; the accompanying noise described as having been "exactly like that made by a fast train in a tunnel".

[20] The elevated death toll was due to the fact that most people were asleep, and killed outright or buried alive in their beds, as their houses collapsed on top of them.

[26] In Messina, the tsunami also caused more devastation and deaths; many of the survivors of the earthquake had fled to the relative safety of the seafront to escape their collapsing houses.

[27] The second and third tsunami waves, coming in rapid succession and higher than the first,[26] raced over the harbour, smashed boats docked at the pier, and broke parts of the sea wall.

[15] Messina lost almost half its population and the entire historical city centre was devastated including its Norman cathedral, which had withstood previous earthquakes such as the severe one in 1783; just the perimeter walls and apses remained standing.

[28] Ethel Ogston, wife of the British vice-consul, died instantly after being struck by a falling balcony as she attempted to escape through the streets with her husband, Alfred, and daughter, both of whom survived.

[34] Former US vice-consul and Messina correspondent for the Associated Press Joseph Pierce and his family were crushed to death when their damaged home in Via Porta Real Basso, close to the harbour, was brought down by the force of the waves created by the tsunami.

Tenor Angelo Gamba who had performed on stage in Aida the evening before the earthquake also lost his life together with his wife and two sons when the Hotel Europa collapsed.

[10] Damage was heaviest in the old historic centre and the low, level central and northern sections of the city due to the soft sandy soil; it was less severe in the mountainous western part as the structures were built on firmer terrain such as Gonzaga Fort which was unscathed and remains to date.

[40][failed verification] The area between Cathedral Square and the 16th century Civic Hospital which fronted Torrente Portalegni was obliterated; the adjacent Via Porta Imperiale was struck particularly hard on both sides.

Huge crevasses and fissures opened in the streets and these as well as the mounds of rubble, and falling masonry, hampered survivors who had fled from their razed homes to seek safety.

[10][42] Families had become separated and a torrential downpour of rain that had begun only minutes before the earthquake added to the confusion, impeding visibility along with the darkness and thick clouds of dust.

The ground continued to shake with repeated aftershocks causing remaining structures to topple down onto the ruins of demolished edifices killing and injuring rescuers and those who had survived the mainshock.

Rescuers at the scene managed to save some people clinging precariously to gaping upper storeys, windows and teetering balconies by using ropes to pull them to safety.

[36] Rescuers searched through the ruins for weeks, and whole families were still being pulled out alive days following the earthquake, but thousands remained buried beneath the rubble, their bodies never recovered.

[24] Buildings in Messina had not been constructed for earthquake resistance, having been built out of small stones and carelessly-applied mortar with heavy tiled roofs, ornamental cornices, unsupported cross beams and vulnerable foundations on soft soil.

[54] In addition to the poorly constructed buildings, the widespread destruction in Messina and Reggio Calabria was due to the telluric movement having been so close to the surface.

[1] News of the disaster was carried to Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti by Italian torpedo boats which set out from Messina to Nicotera, where the telegraph lines were still working, but that was not accomplished until midnight at the end of the day.

Giolitti imposed martial law under the direction of General Francesco Mazza with all looters to be shot, which extended to survivors foraging for food and searching through the rubble for trapped family members.

Initially, a plan was adopted to demolish the remaining structures of Messina and to transfer the city and its port elsewhere in Sicily, but strong protests from the Messinesi led to the discarding of this suggestion.

The Real Cittadella, Mategriffon Castle, Vittorio Emanuele theatre and Monti di Pieta remained standing but sustained considerable damage.

[64] The disaster affected the local economy and Messina faced a temporary depopulation after so many homeless survivors had sought refuge elsewhere, in particular Catania and Palermo where a large number found work as artisans.

[65] Because of its dearth of historical buildings due to the catastrophic 1908 earthquake, as well as the 1943 Allied bombardment during World War II, Messina has been called "the city without memory".