Observation of shallow seismicity in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea is hindered both by its low energy and by geographical features that impose severe constraints on the distribution of land seismic stations. However seismic phenomena are of great importance for defining the present-day structural framework and stress field and for reconstructing the time evolution of such an interesting geological region. Therefore earthquakes even of low magnitude must be used to extract all possible information. On August 28, 1992, a seismic sequence started offshore Policastro Bay, in the area of the submarine volcanoes Enotrio and Palinuro, the main shock having local magnitude 3.8. It lasted until mid-October. The hypocentre locations were obtainable, for the main shock and some tens of aftershocks. For the main shock the fault plane solution was also calculated. The results have stimulated analysis of seismic activity in the adjacent region on the Calabria-Lucania border, which has been characterized by moderate seismicity in historical times and by minor earthquakes in the most recent years. Both the macroseismic and instrumental data available are compatible with the hypothesis of a unique major seismogenic element being responsible for the seismic activity on land as well as offshore.