 The southwestern part of Calabria and the eastern part of Sicily are areas of active crustal extension within the "Siculo–Calabrian Rift Zone".This 350 km long zone developed within the Apennine chain during the Pleistocene and takes up WNW–ESE directed extension.This earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 7.0, affected a large area including most of the southern Italian peninsula and shook the whole island of Sicily.