Bologna Massacre
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The Bologna massacre, also known in Italy as the Strage di Bologna, was a terrorist bombing at the Central Station of Bologna, Italy on the morning of 2 August 1980, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 200. Far-right terrorist organization Ordine Nuovo has been accused of it, while two Italian secret service agents and the headmaster of P2 masonic lodge, Licio Gelli, were convicted for investigation diversion.
At 10:25 a.m., a timed improvised explosive device (IED) contained in an unattended suitcase detonated inside a waiting room. The IED was made of TNT and T4. The explosion destroyed most of the main building and hit the Ancona-Chiasso train that was waiting at the first platform. The blast was heard for miles.
On that summer Saturday the station was full of tourists and the city was unprepared for such a massive incident. There were not enough ambulances, so buses and taxis were used to transport the injured to hospitals.
The Italian government led by Francesco Cossiga and police authorities first thought the blast might be accidental, then tried to suggest that the Italian-based militant group Red Brigades was behind the bombing.
There were numerous attempts to divert and obstruct the surrounding investigations. This gave rise to a number of conspiracy theories in relation to the so-called strategy of tension.
A long, troubled and controversial court case and political issue ensued. The relatives of the victims formed an association (Associazione tra i famigliari delle vittime della strage alla stazione di Bologna del 2 agosto 1980) to raise and maintain civil awareness about the case. On 23 November 1995 the Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) issued the final sentence:
- confirmation of life imprisonment to the Neo-Fascist terrorists Valerio Fioravanti and Francesca Mambro — who have always pleaded innocent — as executors of the attack
- sentence for investigation diversion to Licio Gelli (headmaster of P2 masonry lodge), Francesco Pazienza and to SISMI officers Pietro Musumeci and Giuseppe Belmonte.
- Stefano Delle Chiaie, friend of Licio Gelli and member of the "Armed Revolutionary Nuclei" (ARN), an off-shoot of Ordine Nuovo, also has been accused of having taken part in it.
Every 2 August is designated as a memorial day for all the massacres. The municipality of Bologna together with the Associazione tra i famigliari delle vittime della strage alla stazione di Bologna del 2 agosto 1980 organize every year an international composing competition that ends with a concert in the town's main square Piazza Maggiore.
The area of the station where the bomb detonated has been reconstructed, but, as a memorial to the attack, the flooring has been kept in the same condition, and a deep crack in the main wall has been left as is. Moreover, the station main clock is forever stopped at 10.25, the exact time of the explosion.
See also
- False flag operations
- List of terrorist incidents
- Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870
- History of Italy as a Republic
- Strage di Piazza Fontana
- Strategy of tension
External links
- [stragi.it], official website of the association of the relatives of the victims (Italian only)
- [BBC Overview of the events]
- ["2 Agosto" international composing competition]
- [Bologna Central Station]
- [A Massacre to Remember - The Bologna Train Station Bombing Twenty-Five Years Later]
- ["1980: Massacre in Bologna, 85 dead"]
- [L'ora della verità ], a committee for claiming the inncocence of Luigi Ciavardini and to reveal dark spots of the court case (Italian only)
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