2009 L'Aquila earthquake structure that amplifies seismic waves. The city was struck by earthquakes in 1315, 1349, 1452, 1501, 1646, 1703, 1706 and 1958. The earthquake of February 1703, which caused devastation across much of central Italy, largely destroyed the city and killed around 5,000 people. The earthquake caused damage to between 3,000 and 11,000 buildings in the medieval city of L'Aquila. Several buildings also collapsed. A total of 308 people died in the earthquake, including six Macedonians, two Czechs, five Romanian citizens, two Palestinians, one Greek citizen, one French citizen, one Ukrainian citizen and one Israeli citizen, and approximately 1,500 people were
2005 Italian centre-left primary election 2005 Italian centre-left primary election The 2005 Italian centre-left primary election determined the leader of the coalition The Union, who will stand as common candidate for the office of Prime Minister in the subsequent general election, which will take place on 9–10 April 2006. It was won with 74% of the votes by Romano Prodi. As of 2005, the coalition was assumed to be led by Romano Prodi, however he called for a primary election in order to gain an official leadership. Primary elections were a novelty in Italian politics, as the proportional system in place until the early 1990s