Bologna massacre

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Rescue teams making their way through the rubble

The Bologna massacre (Italian: Strage di Bologna) was a terrorist bombing at the Central Station of Bologna, Italy on the morning of August 2, 1980, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 200. The far-right terrorist organization Ordine Nuovo has been accused of it, while two SISMI (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 popular air-conditioned 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. The roof of the waiting room collapsed onto the passengers, which greatly increased the total number killed in the terrorist attack.

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 militant Red Brigades were responsible for 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 familiari delle vittime della strage alla stazione di Bologna del 2 agosto 1980) to raise and maintain civil awareness about the case. On November 23, 1995, the Court of Cassation (Corte di Cassazione) issued the final sentence:

Confirmation of life imprisonment to the neo-fascists Valerio Fioravanti and Francesca Mambro, members of the Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari (NAR) —who have always maintained their innocence—for executing the attack.

Sentence for investigation diversion to Licio Gelli (headmaster of the 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.

To date those responsible for the attack and their political motives remain unknown. Some suspected that the Gladio network had been at least partially involved.

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.

Following the 2006 arrest of former Argentine Triple A member Rodolfo Almirón, Spanish lawyer José Angel Pérez Nievas declared that it was "probable that Almirón participated — along with Stefano Delle Chiaie and Augusto Canchi — in the 1980 bombing in Bologna's train station." But the Argentine Supreme Court refused in 1998 to extradite Canchi to Italy ^[1].