Authorities had evacuated the nearly 4,000 inhabitants of the fishing town of Grindavik last month over fears of eruption.
Local media footage showed crumbled facades of multi-storied brick houses, with large pieces of furniture scattered.
The note is the only evidence of a damaging earthquake in the Marche region from the 15th century.
Predicting earthquakes is notoriously difficult, with thousands of preventable deaths as a result
Dutch seismologist tells Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan to be on alert. Turns out, he was right.
An Israeli municipal rabbi has proposed a link between the recent earthquake in Morocco and a political statement about Jerusalem.
A deep sinkhole pit discovered in rural Morocco sparks fears and comparisons to a similar event in Turkey. Are the catastrophic earthquakes the missing link?
An Israeli-French research revealed new insights into the natural, destructive phenomenon of soil liquefaction during earthquakes.
A 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck the area early on Wednesday, the strongest jolt in 40 years to rattle the volcanic field, known as the Campi Flegrei.
Iranian authorities in Lorestan in western Iran deny that an earthquake happened and deny rumors of explosions linked to a military center.