Cause
The earthquake was caused by normal faulting between plates. Italy sits along the boundary zone of the African Continental plate and this plate is pushing against the seafloor underneath Europe at a rate of 25 millimeters (1 inch) per year. This causes vertical displacement which in turn can cause earthquakes. Recently it has been proposed that the concurrent tsunami was not generated by the earthquake, but rather by a large undersea landslide it triggered. There were also several fires that destroyed houses and turned them to rubble.
Read more about this topic: 1908 Messina Earthquake