Bologna marks 46 years since station bombing that killed 85, as mayor and minister defend truth against discredit

Mayor Lepore: 'The day our history changed'

In the courtyard of Palazzo d'Accursio, Mayor Matteo Lepore addressed families and authorities, calling 2 August 1980 the most important day in Bologna's history. "We lost 85 people," he said. "It is a day of death but also the day hope began. From that day, Bologna gathered the rubble and helped the victims." He stressed that the city's democracy emerged stronger, contrary to the bombers' intentions, and described the annual march as a pillar of that democracy.

From then our history changed. Contrary to the intentions of those who planted that bomb, our democracy has been stronger ever since, and this march is the pillar of democracy.

Lepore also thanked law enforcement, magistrates, and lawyers, acknowledging those who lost their lives in the line of duty during the investigation and its aftermath. He led a round of applause for them and for the families of the victims.

Piantedosi: 'An indelible mark on the nation's conscience'

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi posted a message on X recalling the "deadly device that cut short the lives of 85 people and injured more than 200." He wrote that the station clock, frozen at the minute of the explosion, still tells of the "inhumanity of the fascist subversive plot that tried to undermine the heart of our democracy." Piantedosi noted that the terrorists were met with a united and firm response from society and the state, which never yielded. He extended condolences to the families, who "despite the pain, never stopped demanding truth and justice for their loved ones."

Honouring the fallen of the Bologna Massacre also means taking a clear stand against every form of hatred and violence: a warning that renews itself year after year and urges us to defend the values of freedom and justice at the foundation of our Republic.

Lambertini: 'Truths are being discredited'

Paolo Lambertini, speaking for the first time as president of the victims' families association after succeeding Paolo Bolognesi, told Adnkronos that this is the year in which established truths are being attacked. "We have the truths, but they try to discredit them, dismantle them, to confuse the truth with false leads," he said. He insisted that the findings are not the work of "four communist judges, as someone says," but the result of multiple rulings, including by the Court of Cassation's united sections, layered from 1995 to 2025. His demand was simple: "that the truth be told."

We are in the year in which we have the truths, but they try to discredit them, dismantle them, to confuse the truth with false leads. We are in the year in which we begin to have to defend truths from an informational and educational point of view.

The day's commemorations

The programme began at 8:30 with the mayor meeting families and authorities, including regional president Michele de Pascale and Undersecretary Nicola Molteni. A march then moved from Piazza Nettuno to the station. At 10:25, the exact time of the attack, a triple train whistle sounded and a minute of silence was observed in Piazza Medaglie d'Oro. Lambertini spoke from the stage, and Mayor Lepore closed the ceremony.

At 10:50, wreaths were laid in the station's waiting room and at platform 1, where a memorial recalls railwayman Silver Sirotti, who died in the Italicus bombing. A special train departed at 11:00 for San Benedetto Val di Sambro, where wreaths were placed at memorials for the Italicus and 904 Naples-Milan train attacks. At 11:30, a wreath was laid at the Co.Ta.Bo monument in memory of the taxi drivers killed on 2 August 1980.

A city still wounded

Lepore noted that Bologna is also "wounded" by a recent death at Pilastro, where Abderrahim Fakir died two weeks earlier during a police intervention. He expressed hope that the pain would bring many people to the streets for the commemoration. "Every time it has been wounded, Bologna has taken to the streets," he said.