Bologna Massacre

The Bologna massacre ( it, strage di Bologna) was a terrorist bombing of the Bologna Centrale railway station in Bologna, Italy, on the morning of 2 August 1980, which killed 85 people and wounded over 200. Several members of the neo-fascist terrorist organization (NAR, Armed Revolutionary Nuclei) were sentenced for the bombing, although the group denied involvement.

Events

At 10:25 CEST, a time bomb hidden in an unattended suitcase detonated in an air-conditioned waiting room at the Bologna station, which was full of people seeking relief from the August heat. The explosion collapsed the roof of the waiting room, destroyed most of the main building, and hit the Ancona–Chiasso train which was waiting at the first platform.

The station was full of tourists that Saturday, and the city was unprepared for a major disaster. Many passers-by and travelers provided first aid to victims and helped rescue people who were buried under the rubble.

Due to the large number of casualties and an insufficient number of emergency vehicles available to transport the injured to hospitals, firefighters used buses, private cars, and taxis. Some doctors and hospital staff returned early from vacation to care for the victims, and hospital departments which were closed for the summer holidays were reopened to accommodate the casualties.

After the attack, large demonstrations were held in Piazza Maggiore (Bologna's central square). Harsh criticism was directed at government representatives who attended the 6 August funerals of the victims in the Basilica San Petronio. The only applause was reserved for President Sandro Pertini, who arrived by helicopter in Bologna at 5:30 pm the day of the massacre and tearfully said: "I have no words; we are facing the most criminal enterprise that has ever taken place in Italy."

The #37 bus (used to transport victims) and the clock (stopped at 10:25) were symbols of the massacre. The attack was the worst atrocity in Italy since World War II.

Investigation

The government, led by Christian Democratic Prime Minister Francesco Cossiga, first assumed that the incident was due to an accidental explosion of an old boiler in the station's basement. Evidence, however, soon pointed to terrorism. '' L'Unità'', the Italian Communist Party (PCI) newspaper, attributed responsibility for the attack to neo-fascists on 3 August. Later, in a special session of the Senate, Cossiga also supported the theory that neo-fascists were behind the attack: "Unlike leftist terrorism, which strikes at the heart of the state through its representatives, right-wing terrorism prefers acts such as massacres because acts of extreme violence promote panic and impulsive reactions." The bomb was later found to be composed of of explosives: of TNT and Composition B and of T4 ( nitroglycerin for civil use).

False leads

Shortly after the bombing, the Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata press agency received a call from an individual claiming to represent NAR and claiming responsibility. The call later proved fake, originating instead from the Florence office of SISMI (the Italian Military Secret Service). Federigo Manucci Benincasa, the director of SISMI's Florence branch, was later charged with obstruction of justice.

A Lebanese connection was claimed in September 1980, involving Al Fatah, Phalangists, Italian radicals and Swiss journalists tied to the Italian intelligence community, who supplied investigators with fake notes, memos, and reports. This was followed by a KGB connection concocted by intelligence head General Giuseppe Santovito, a member of P2, and Francesco Pazienza.

Generals Pietro Musumeci, another member of P2, and Belmonte of SISMI had a police sergeant put a suitcase full of similar explosives on a train in Bologna. The suitcase also contained personal items belonging to two right-wing extremists, a Frenchman, and a German. Musumeci also produced a phony dossier, entitled "Terror on trains". He was charged with falsifying evidence to incriminate Roberto Fiore and Gabriele Adinolfi, two leaders of the far-right Terza Posizione who had fled to London.René Monzat, ''Enquêtes sur la droite extrême'', Le Monde-éditions, 1992, p. 89. Both Terza Posizione leaders said that Musumeci was trying to divert attention from P2 head Licio Gelli. Musumeci and Belmonte were convicted of obstructing the investigation.

Prosecution

The attack has been attributed to the NAR (Armed Revolutionary Nuclei), a neo-fascist terrorist organization. A long, controversial court case began after the bombing. Francesca Mambro and Valerio Fioravanti were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Luigi Ciavardini, a NAR member with close ties to Terza Posizione, in April 2007. Ciavardini received a 30-year prison sentence for his role in the attack. He had been arrested after the armed robbery of the Banca Unicredito di Roma on 15 September 2005."Arrestato l'estremista nero Ciavardini per una rapina a mano armata"
''la Repubblica'', 10 October 2006 . Ciavardini was also charged with the assassinations of Francesco Evangelista on 28 May 1980 and Judge Mario Amato

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