Last Sunday, May 20, a strong and unusually shallow earthquake struck northern Italy, killing at least seven people, damaging or destroying hundreds of structures, and leaving thousands homeless. The magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred just after 4 a.m. local time, at a depth of only 5 km (3 mi). The affected region is home to countless historic churches, castles, and towers -- many of which were damaged or toppled. Displaced families are taking shelter in tents erected on local soccer fields as rescue workers search for survivors and recovery crews try to salvage historic artifacts from the rubble.
Earthquake in Northern Italy
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Read moreHalf of a clock face on Modenesi's Towers of Finale Emilia, destroyed following an earthquake on May 20, 2012 in Ferrara, Italy. #
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Read moreDust rises from a building in San Felice Sul Panaro, damaged following an earthquake on May 20, 2012 in Modena province. #
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Read moreA rescue worker walks in front of the facade of the town hall after a powerful earthquake that shook Italy's industrial and densely populated northeast early on May 20, 2012 in Sant'Agostino village in Modena province. #
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Read moreA woman cries following an earthquake, in Sant'Agostino, on May 20. 2012. One of the worst quakes to hit northeast Italy in hundreds of years rattled the region around Bologna early Sunday, killing at least seven people, collapsing factories and sending residents running out into the streets, emergency services said. #
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Read moreDestroyed cars in the rubble after an earthquake in Finale Emilia, on May 20, 2012. A strong earthquake rocked a large swath of northern Italy early on Sunday, killing at least three people and causing serious damage to the area's cultural heritage. #
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Read moreA view of the quake-destroyed San Carlo old church, in San Carlo, northern Italy, on May 21. 2012. #
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Read moreOriano Caretti looks at the overturned shelves with Parmesan wheels in his Parmesan cheese factory in San Giovanni in Persiceto, Italy, on May 21. 2012. #
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Read moreOverturned shelves of Parmesan cheese wheels in a cheese factory in San Giovanni, Italy, on May 21. 2012, following an earthquake the day before. #
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Read moreA firefighter checks a cross that fell from a church roof in Crevalcore near Bologna, on May 20, 2012. #
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Read moreA quake-damaged building in Finale Emilia, on May 21, 2012. Thousands of people in northern Italy slept in tents and cars overnight as more than 100 aftershocks rocked the area hit by a magnitude 6.0 earthquake that killed seven people and inflicted heavy damage to centuries-old cultural sites. #
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Read morePolicemen walk by the body of one of the victims who died during an earthquake at a ceramics factory in Sant-Agostino, on May 20, 2012. #
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Read moreA silo lies on ground in a factory after falling during the earthquake on May 20, 2012 in Burana, between Modena and Ferrara in northern Italy. #
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Read moreA car is crushed under fallen masonry beside a devastated house following an earthquake on May 20, 2012 in Ferrara, Italy. #
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Read morePeople take shelter in a car in Finale Emilia, some 60 kilometers east of Bologna in northern Italy, after the region was hit by an earthquake early Sunday, May 20, 2012. #
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Read moreA woman evacuated from her home looks from the window of a car in Sant'Agostino, Italy, on May 20. 2012. #
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Read moreA statue of Jesus Christ among the rubble inside the destroyed San Carlo old church, in San Carlo, Italy, on May 21, 2012. #
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Read moreThe destroyed church in San Carlo on May 21, 2012 following an earthquake the day before. #
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Read moreThe interior of the town hall, seen through a hole in the wall right after the earthquake struck Sant'Agostino, on May 20. 2012. #
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Read moreDisplaced residents walk in a tent care center in Finale Emilia, on Monday, May 21. 2012. #
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Read moreAda, who was evacuated from her home, closes the window of her tent in a care center in Finale Emilia, on May 21. 2012. #
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Read moreA woman kisses a child in an emergency tent in Finale Emilia, on May 21, 2012. Thousands of people in northern Italy slept in tents and cars overnight as more than 100 aftershocks rocked the area hit by a magnitude 6.0 earthquake that killed seven people and inflicted heavy damage to centuries-old cultural sites. #
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Read moreA boy looks at the damaged old tower of Delle Rocche castle after an earthquake in Finale Emilia May 20, 2012. Shortly afterward, a strong aftershock brought down the remaining half of the tower. #
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Read moreProducts are scattered on the floor of a market in Finale Emilia, early Monday, May 21. 2012 following an earthquake. #
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Read moreFiremen recover a painting from a destroyed church in the village of San Carlo after an earthquake, in Modena province, on May 20, 2012. #
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Read moreThe factory of Sant'Agostino Ceramics is flattened following an earthquake on May 20, 2012 in Ferrara, Italy. #
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Read moreA firefighter and a dog crawl over earthquake debris in Sant'Agostino, Italy, on May 20, 2012. #
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Read moreRuins at the Castello delle Rocche following an earthquake on May 20, 2012 in Finale Emilia, Italy. #
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Read moreA woman stands outside a tent at the tent camp in Finale Emilia village on May 21, 2012, following an earthquake the day before. #
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Read moreRubble is strewn around the church of Finale Emilia following an earthquake on May 20, 2012 in Ferrara, Italy. #
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Read moreA girl receives a cup of hot tea in an emergency tent in Finale Emilia, on May 21, 2012. #
Reuters/Giorgio Benvenuti
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