“Neo-fascist matrix” –

On the night between August 3 and 4, 1974, at 1:23 a.m., a bomb exploded in the fifth carriage of the express train 1486 “Italicus”, traveling from Rome to Munich via Brenner. At that moment, the convoy was passing through San Benedetto Val di Sambro, in the province of Bologna. 12 people died in the neo-fascist attack. “Fifty years ago, the terrorist strategy aimed at destabilizing the Republic struck the Italicus train in San Benedetto Val di Sambro, sowing death and pain. It was a convoy headed to Germany, crowded with travelers, many of whom were migrants returning to work. Eleven passengers died in the fire that followed the explosion. The twelfth victim was a railway worker, Silver Sirotti, a gold medal for civil valor for his heroism: he lost his life while saving many others. His generosity, combined with great courage, constitutes an everlasting testimony to those values ​​of humanity and solidarity, which the assassins and their accomplices wanted to eradicate”, declared the head of state, Sergio Mattarella, on the occasion of the anniversary.

“On the anniversary – Mattarella emphasizes – we renew the Republic’s feelings of closeness and sharing with the families of the victims and the many injured. In the bloody chain of the massacre season of the Italian far right, of which the Italicus massacre is a significant part, the neo-fascist matrix emerges, as underlined by the ruling of the Court of Cassation and the conclusions of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the P2 lodge, even if the judicial proceedings did not lead to the express conviction of those responsible. Italian society and its institutions were able to repel that attack on civil coexistence thanks to the strength and cohesion of the unity of the national community, founded on the principles of our Constitution”.

Senate President Ignazio La Russa defuses any predictable attempt at polemics by the left. “It is with deep emotion that we remember the terrible Italicus massacre, which occurred on the night between August 3 and 4, 1974. An explosive device detonated while the train was traveling on the Bologna-Florence railway line, near the San Benedetto Val di Sambro station, causing the death of twelve people. Fifty years after this neo-fascist attack – as established by the Court of Cassation – we renew our grief and join the families of the victims and the survivors for a wound that is still open”, wrote the second highest office of the State on social media.

“Today we are reminded of another vile terrorist attack that has bloodied the history of the country: the Italicus massacre, of which neo-fascist origins emerge, takes us back to fifty years ago. We will never be able to forget those events, those who died as a result of the explosion, the injured and we will never forget the heroic gesture of Silver Sirotti from Forlì, who sacrificed his life to help the passengers. Today we renew our closeness to the families of the victims and to the communities that witnessed this tragedy. Honoring their memory means keeping the lights of remembrance on and continuing to walk with determination on the path of truth and justice”, commented the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo Fontana.