EARTHQUAKES IN ITALY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20255, 15 May 1929, Page 13

EARTHQUAKES IN ITALY.

TERROR AT BOLOGNA. PEOPLE SLEEP IN THE OPEN. INTERMITTENT SHOCKS FELT. (Received May 14, 0.5 p.m.) United Service. ROME, May 13. Intermittent earthquakes at Bologna have paralysed business in the city. The peoplo have deserted their homes and are sleeping in tents, which they have pitched in fields and parks, or on mattresses spread in the open air. The city has tho appearance of a picturesque bivouac. Bologna, the capital of the province of Emilia, has a population of about 250,000. It lies on tho direct road from the principal plains of Tuscany, to the populous region in north-eastern Italy. It is enclosed by a brick wall entered by 12 gates, and is supplied with water by an aqueduct constructed by Augustus and restored by Zannoni Bologna is one of the great education centres in Italy. It has a university said to have been founded by the Emperor Theodosius 11. early in the fifth century, an academy of arts, schools of music, engineering and artillery, libraries, etc. In the city is the tower of Asiuelli, the most lofty in Italy. Bologna is an important strategic point for the railway traveller. The main lino running south-east from Milan there crosses at right angles the line which runs south-west from Venice to Florence. Bologna, therefore, is an important changing plate for passengers from Florence to various ports of northern Italy. It is an attractive city historically and for modern interests. The older portions are characterised by narrow streets. There are several old palaces in the city.