A strong earthquake rocked a large swathe of northern Italy early on Sunday, causing at least three deaths and bringing about the collapse of rural factories and ancient bell towers in towns. The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 4:04 a.m. (0204 GMT) and had a magnitude of 6.0, was in the plains near Modena in the Po River Valley and the tremors were felt in nearby regions, Reuters reported. It was the strongest quake to hit Italy in three years.
