The 1783 Calabrian earthquake and the first seismoscopes

The disruptive earthquake hitting the Calabria region and the eastern side of Sicily in 1783 triggered many investigations on the nature of seismic events and the possible connections with volcanic as well as meteorological phenomena. Systematic studies of earthquakes’ effects were also conducted by a Commission set up in Naples and led by Michele Sarconi, highlighting the possibility to estimate the earthquake intensity in terms of the damage producted. The event spurred a renewed interest in the experimental detection of earthquakes, so that a variety of instruments was proposed and constructed. Among them there were the seismoscopes made by Domenico Salsano, Nicola Zupo and Ascanio Filomarino (Duca della Torre). A historical analysis of these instruments is here carried out starting from the authors’ original writings.