Fireworks set off by Rome traffic police spark mass horse stampede during Republic Day rehearsal, injuring riders and animals

The incident

A late-night rehearsal for Italy's Republic Day parade descended into chaos on Friday when a battery of fireworks was ignited without authorization near the ancient Baths of Caracalla. The explosions, occurring shortly before 11:30 p.m., sent approximately 35 horses into a panic. Mounted units from the army, Carabinieri paramilitary force, and police were preparing for the annual June 2 parade when the animals broke through their barriers and fled onto the busy Via Cristoforo Colombo, a major thoroughfare in the capital.

I remember the horses suddenly got scared. My horse too, while I was in the saddle… I lost my balance and then I don't remember anything. I woke up directly in the hospital.

The human toll

Several riders were thrown during the stampede. A 22-year-old soldier suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung but was not in life-threatening condition. Two other soldiers and a mounted police officer also required medical treatment. Emanuela Nardelli, the injured policewoman from the Trastevere mounted squad, told Rai's Tg1 from her hospital bed that she hopes to recover quickly and return to riding, though she acknowledged she would not be able to participate in the June 2 parade.

As soon as I woke up I asked if I could take part on June 2, but in these conditions I don't think it's the case.

Witness accounts

A female Carabiniere from the mounted unit described the night as the most terrifying of her life in a voice message circulated among colleagues. She recounted how the fireworks went off while units were still dismounted and preparing to begin the parade. Horses from the fanfare unit panicked first, followed by the lancers' mounts, which trampled anyone and anything in their path. The soldier described horses crashing into military vehicles, falling, getting up, and running again, no longer responding to their riders' commands. She reported that one horse died of a heart attack and that several fanfare horses were severely injured after colliding with parked cars.

The horses left, trampling anyone and anything in front of them. They smashed every possible and imaginable car they found in their way.

Investigation and fallout

Police and Carabinieri have opened an investigation into the incident, examining surveillance footage and interviewing witnesses. Potential charges include negligent bodily injury and the detonation of unauthorized fireworks. Officials confirmed that a municipal policeman from the traffic emergency unit lit the fireworks about 200 meters from the horses. Four local police officers have been removed from the June 2 parade as a result. Rome's police commander Mario De Sclavis told Corriere della Sera that the incident "discredits the image of the Corps and its officers," and in a radio message to his force he urged the "healthy part of the body" to continue working with their heads held high, promising consequences for those responsible.

What happened the other night fell on us like a tsunami. I perfectly understand your state of mind, which for two days has also been mine. But what I want to tell you is that you, the healthy part of the body, must not worry about anything.

The aftermath

The last horse was recovered at dawn, approximately 14 kilometers from the scene. Around 15 horses were injured, though none were put down. The stampede caused extensive damage to parked vehicles along the escape route. The annual Republic Day parade, commemorating the 1946 referendum that established the Italian Republic, is scheduled to proceed on June 2 despite the disruption.