By John Phillips

ROME

As many as 80 earthquake shocks measuring up to 4.1 on the Richter scale shook the Chianti district of Tuscany, in Italy, Friday, according to local seismologists. 

Seismologists at the Italian national institute of geophysics and volcanology said it was impossible to predict when the series of tremors would end.

     Several schools in Florence and Siena were evacuated as the 4.1-magnitude quake was felt throughout the wine-producing Chianti area, prompting people in the regional capital to leave buildings and take to the streets. Firefighters received numerous calls, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage.

     Alessandro Amato, a seismologist at the Italian national institute of geophysics and volcanology, said it was "impossible to foresee the duration" of the rash of shocks and that the seismic activity was typical of other such series of tremors that have hit other areas of Italy recently.

    The epicenter of the tremors was located near the villages of Barberino Val d'Elsa, Greve in Chianti and Tavernelle in Val di Pesa.

   In Florence tourist visits to the Palazzo Vecchio were suspended before resuming again but the Arnolfo tower was closed.

  The Florence interim superintendent for museums Alessandra Marina said all museums in the Tuscan capital would remain open, though they are being inspected for signs of damage.

  In Siena, the tourist favorite Mangia Tower dominating the fan-shaped central Piazza del Campo was closed to visitors as well as Siena's civic museum.

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