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We show and discuss the similarities among the 2016 Amatrice (Mw 6.0), 1997 Colfiorito-Sellano (Mw 6.0-5.6) and 2009 L’Aquila (Mw 6.3) earthquakes. They all occurred along the crest of the central Apennines and were caused by shallow dipping faults between 3 and 10 km depth, as shown by their characteristic InSAR signature. We contend that these earthquakes delineate a seismogenic style that is characteristic of this portion of the central Apennines, where the upward propagation of seismogenic faults is hindered by the presence of pre-existing regional thrusts. This leads to an effective decoupling between the deeper seismogenic portion of the upper crust and its uppermost 3 km.The decoupling implies that active faults mapped at the surface do not connect with the seismogenic sources, and that their evolution may be controlled by passive readjustments to coseismic strains or even by purely gravitational motions. Seismic hazard analyses and estimates based on such faults should hence be considered with great caution as they may be all but representative of the true seismogenic potential.

We reconstruct the tectonic framework of the 24 August 2016, Amatrice earthquake. At least three main faults, including an older thrust fault (Sibillini Thrust), played an active role in the sequence. The mainshock nucleated and propagated along an extensional fault located in the footwall of the Sibillini Thrust, but due to the preliminary nature of the data the role of this thrust is still unclear. We illustrate two competing solutions: 1) the coseismic rupture started along an extensional fault and then partially used the thrust plane in extensional motion; 2) the thrust fault acted as an upper barrier to the propagation of the mainshock rupture, but was partially reactivated during the aftershock sequence. In both cases our tectonic reconstruction suggests an active role of the thrust fault, providing yet another example of how structures inherited from older tectonic phases may control the mainshock ruptures and the long-term evolution of younger seismogenic faults.