The worst one for us was back in 2002, we were living near Alssandria and there was a strong earthquake centered only 5 miles away in the hills near Tortona. Both my sons were evacuated from their schools and although no-one was killed quite a few houses were destroyed up in the valley where it happened.
I had friends staying from England and we were visiting our local village (Piovera) which has a beautiful and completely intact 14th century castle. The whole thing started shaking and it was very scary, we thought it was going to come down on our heads! The weirdest thing though was that in the village all the dogs and cats came out into the street just before it happened and were howling -they must have felt it first -spooky.
http://www.castellipiemontesi.it/pag.../piovera.lasso
Do take a look at this link i just found showing the castle -some great photos and in the cellars is an original wine-press built using a design by Leonardo Da Vinci. It's a real gem and completely off the beaten track. The Count who owns the castle is an artist and throught he village there is also a sculpture trail to follow.
They have an annual mediaeval festival which is great fun too.