The quake hit near the Adriatic coast in the region of Molise, just after 8:00 pm local time, according to Italy’s National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology (INGV).
It was among more than 20 tremors which have shocked the area in recent days, including a magnitude 4.4 quake just hours later, and a magnitude 3.2 quake which occurred this morning at 12:18 am.
The mayor of Montecilfone, a coastal village near the epicentre of the quake, said people were scared but there was only minor damage.
“Some old walls that were already in bad shape have collapsed, but there's no major damage,” Franco Pallotta said on SkyTG24.
“People are alarmed. Thank God, I have no news of injuries.”
The fire department confirmed that there had been no rescue calls from the area near the epicentre, noting that only slight damage to some buildings had been spotted.
Molise’s governor also said that only minor damage had been reported.
The shock sparked fears over active volcano Vesuvius in the city of Naples.
Francesca Bianco, director of the Vesuvius Observatory, told Italian news agency Ansa she has received floods of phone calls from worried residents.
At the moment no damage has been reported in Naples.
Meanwhile, a magnitude 3.9 earthquake has struck Bagnolo in Piano, in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, just after 02:30 am this morning.
