Piazza Loggia: commemorated the massacre of 49 years ago

With the eight tolling of the bells, as many as the victims, the celebrations of the 49th anniversary of the massacre of May 28, 1974 opened in Piazza Loggia in Brescia, in which 8 people died and 102 were injured. At 10.12 that morning a bomb exploded while an anti-fascist demonstration called by the trade unions was underway.
The 49th anniversary comes a few days after the decision of the State Attorney to appeal to the Court of Cassation against the decision of the judge of Brescia Federica Brugnara to exclude the Presidency of the Council of Ministers from the civil parties in the preliminary hearing against Roberto Zorzi, considered one of the alleged material executors of the Piazza Loggia massacre.
The hearing has been adjourned to June 15 but the case risks paralyzing the proceedings.
"Since the government is very keen to be there, I hope that the Supreme Court will set the hearing by June 15. Mine is an appeal. After 50 years there is not much more time to lose," said Manlio Milani, president of the House of Memory of Brescia. "We must do quickly, but also well to guarantee everyone", said the president of the Court of Appeal of Brescia Claudio Castelli present in the square with the heads of justice in Brescia.
A long applause greeted Franco Castrezzati, the trade unionist who at the time of the explosion of the bomb was speaking on the stage of Piazza Loggia and who this year, in a wheelchair and marked by age, wanted to be present.

Mattarella remembers Piazza della Loggia, memory root of the future - "Eight people killed. Over a hundred wounds. The city of Brescia upset. The Republic wounded. So much innocent blood was shed on the morning of May 28, 1974 in Piazza della Loggia by terror strategists and their ruthless executors to destabilize democracy, attack the state. The subversive plans of neo-fascist terrorism were thwarted and foiled. In fidelity to constitutional principles". This was stated by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in a message on the occasion of the anniversary of the Piazza della Loggia massacre. "The protagonists - he continues - were the Italian people, the political and trade union forces, the cultural and social expressions, who knew how to react through democratic participation. The sentences managed to reconstruct the circumstances and responsibilities of the attack in Brescia, highlighting its matrix and its links with right-wing subversion. On the anniversary day, sentiments of closeness and solidarity are addressed in the first place to the relatives and descendants of those who lost their lives, to their friends and fellow workers. To the community of Brescia. The country owes a debt of gratitude to the city of Brescia, hit for manifesting its irreducible opposition to subversion. The national community is aware of how close the connection between democracy and justice is and for this reason it feels to express gratitude to those who have poured into civil commitment - such as the Association of Victims' Families - the immense personal pain suffered. Memory is the root of the future. For this reason, today's memory is a message addressed in a special way to the younger generations, to whom the witness of coexistence, solidarity and the common good is transmitted to be recognized and preserved with care, beyond any legitimate difference of opinions and interests".

"The Piazza della Loggia massacre is one of the darkest pages in Italian history, a deep wound inflicted on our Republic. But we also remember this sad page of the strong reaction of the national community. A proud reaction that led to the defeat of those who aimed to undermine democracy through the strategy of terror. My respectful thoughts go to the innocent victims of the massacre and to the many who still bear their wounds today." So the President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa on the occasion of the 49th anniversary of the Piazza della Loggia massacre.

"On the day of the 49th anniversary of the massacre in Piazza della Loggia, I address an emotional thought to the victims, the injured and their families. Almost fifty years after that cowardly terrorist attack of unprecedented violence that marked one of the darkest and most dramatic pages of our recent history, it is the duty of the institutions to renew their daily commitment to defending the values and democratic principles of our Constitution. I express gratitude to the men of the State who with determination and perseverance worked over time to shed light on the affair". This was declared by the President of the Chamber, Lorenzo Fontana.