Italy quake map
© USGSMap of the earthquake's epicenter
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.4 rattled a broad swath of central Italy, including Rome, on Wednesday (Thursday NZT), just two months after a powerful temblor toppled villages, killing nearly 300 people.

There were no immediate reports of damage.

Italy's National Vulcanology Center said the epicenter was near Macerata, near Perugia. The US Geological Survey said it had a depth of some 10 kilometres, which is relatively shallow.

The quake was felt across a broad swath of central and southern Italy, shaking centuries-old palazzi in Rome's historic centre.

The Aug. 24 quake destroyed hilltop village of Amatrice and other nearby towns.

Wednesday's quake was felt from Perugia in Umbria to the capital Rome to the central Italy town of Aquila, which was struck by a deadly quake in 2009. The mayor of Aquila, however, said there was no immediate report of damage.

​The quake struck at 7.10pm on Wednesday (local time).

"The earthquake only happened a few minutes ago. It's dark here, so impossible to determine if there has been any damage outside," one resident in Penna San Giovanni told EMSC. "All services - electricity, internet, etc - are still working normally."

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