Early reports said the Tuesday quake caused some minor damage to local buildings, but no serious injuries.
The first tremor was felt at 5:11 am, according to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).
The epicentre was located around two kilometres from the small town of Muccia, in the Marche region.
The quake was felt several kilometres away, in Macerata, Ancona, Pesaro, Umbria and Lazio, including Rome.
The mayor of Pieve Torina, which was devastated by the 2016 earthquake, reported that Tuesday’s tremor had caused some further damage to the town.
He added that schools had been ordered close and four families had been evacuated from damaged buildings.
A 17th-century church bell tower reportedly collapsed in Muccia, a town of around 1,000 residents.
Italy’s Civil Protection Department on Tuesday morning checked for any further damage to homes or other buildings in the affected towns.
Train service in parts of the area was suspended to check for possible damage to tracks.
More than ten aftershocks have followed the initial quake, including two with a magnitude of 3.5, registered at 5:46 am and 6:03 am.
In August 2016, the same area was struck by an earthquake of magnitude 6.2, which killed nearly 300 people and razed villages to the ground.
