Quarto (305x230 mm); 3 parts in one volume, 299 pages, half-percallina binding with marbled endpapers, title in gold and gilded fillets. A rare first edition of this famous report, which documents the devastating series of earthquakes that severely affected the Vulture and Irpinia regions in August 1851. At the end of the volume are eight fine sepia-toned lithographic plates (executed by Fergola after drawings by F. Palma), showing the locations before and after the earthquake, as well as a summary table—folded several times and also placed at the end—of government subsidies. A seminal historical work written by the physician and essayist Giacomo Maria Paci and published in Naples in 1853. The volume is structured to provide a comprehensive overview, combining scientific accounts, news reports, and official documentation from the period. It describes in detail the powerful main tremor of August 14, 1851, which occurred at 2:30 p.m. and leveled several towns; the main areas affected were: Melfi, Barile, Rapolla, and Venosa, with extensive details on the catastrophic damage sustained by these towns. An excellent copy with minimal, sporadic foxing.