I got the biggest fright when this image came up on my Facebook feed from la Repubblica; for a second I thought that there had been some sort of disaster in Bologna, but it is in commemoration of the Strage di Bologna, the Bologna Massacre. The tragic terrorist attack occurred at 10:25 on the morning of 2 August 1980 when the Central Station of Bologna was bombed, killing 85 and wounding over 200. There has been confusion in the evidence as to who is to blame, but it has been mostly attributed to the Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari, a neo-fascist terrorist organisation. There have also been speculations that the Italian secret service were involved but it has not been proved. Many believe that right-wing extremists attacked to instigate opposition to the Italian communists.
The bomb was left inside a suitcase and detonated inside a waiting room; collapsing its roof, destroying most of the main building, and hitting the Ancona-Chiasso train which was at the first platform. Sandro Pertini, the Italian President at that time, could only say, in tears, 'I have no words, we are facing the most criminal enterprise that has ever taken place in Italy.' At the time, the Bologna Massacre was named the worst event Western Europe had seen since the second World War.
