Not being close to a plate does not necessarily mean only small quakes.
There were a series of what today would be absolutely devastating earthquakes in the Midwestern U.S., far from any tectonic plates, between 1811 and 1812.
Being in the middle of the large and relatively stable Eurasian plate does help, though. The Mediterranean region, being closer to the edge region, does experience quite a bit more, though, and some strong ones have historically been felt all the way up here, too.
Not being close to a plate does not necessarily mean only small quakes.
There were a series of what today would be absolutely devastating earthquakes in the Midwestern U.S., far from any tectonic plates, between 1811 and 1812.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1811–1812_New_Madrid_earthquakes
Being in the middle of the large and relatively stable Eurasian plate does help, though. The Mediterranean region, being closer to the edge region, does experience quite a bit more, though, and some strong ones have historically been felt all the way up here, too.