Earthquakes Hit Northern Italy

Northern Italy was rocked by two earthquakes this past month. The first quake was centered somewhere between Modena and Ferrara, and heavily felt in Bologna, near the Ducati factory, but there were no damages there. The second, bigger one was centered somewhere between Modena and Mantova.

I was supposed to be in Modena to test a new Maserati, but the event was cancelled. The Maserati, Ferrari and Lamborghini factories were shut, and also Ducati, for safety reasons, but with no consequences there. They might run short of parts in a couple of weeks because the aluminum foundry that casts components for the Panigale 1199 engine was among those that were heavily damaged.

These earthquakes took at least 17 lives and tore down medieval castles, towers and churches—painful losses all.