President Sergio Mattarella noted in a statement published on the official website of the Presidency of the Republic that this event, which occurred on August 2, 1980, at the Bologna train station, “is etched in the history of the Republic and in the conscience of Italians.”

The president stated, “The infinite sorrow for so many defenseless victims, among women, men, and children; the emotion felt for the anguish and suffering of their families; the dismay at the destruction sown in the heart of the city’s and the entire nation’s civic life are renewed this Monday, as on every anniversary.”

An explosive device placed in a suitcase detonated at 10:25 hours that day in the waiting room of the train station in that city, the capital of the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, destroying a large part of the facility.

The attack was claimed by the far-right organization Armed Revolutionary Nuclei (NAR).

This neo-fascist group was active in the country between 1977 and 1981, during which time it perpetrated 33 violent actions.

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