Memorial to the victims of the Strategy of Tension unveiled in Milan

The memorial to the victims of the Strategy of Tension, the massacres carried out between 1969 (Piazza Fontana) and 1980 (Bologna Station), desired and proposed by the city committee, Comitato non Dimenticarmi, with the support of the Associations of the families of the victims, was presented in Sala Alessi at Palazzo Marino, in the presence of the institutions, associations and committees of the victims’ families. The presentation was attended by Councillor for Culture Tommaso Sacchi, the President of Comitato Non Dimenticarmi, Carlo Tombola, the President of the Piazza Fontana December 12, 1969 Association, Federico Sinicato, President of the Association of the Fallen Strage di Piazza della Loggia, Manlio Milani, Roberto Castaldo, representing the Associazione Familiari delle Vittime della Strage della Stazione di Bologna on August 2, 1980; Claudia and Silvia, daughters of Giuseppe Pinelli; Roberto Cenati, President of the Milan provincial ANPI; and Irene Pavlidi, of the Comitato Non Dimenticarmi Board of Directors.

The installation, characterized by a strong symbolic and narrative meaning, was designed by artist Ferruccio Ascari, who spoke at the presentation, and will be placed in Via Beccaria in a green area overlooking Piazza Fontana. The memorial is designed to stir collective memory, and the elements of which it is composed contribute to the achievement of this purpose: from the 137 steles, corresponding to the number of victims of the massacres, including Giuseppe Pinelli, are suspended as many wind chimes. Prompted by the wind, the bells resonate, evoking the voices of the victims who ask to have their stories told, not to be forgotten.

The memorial is dedicated to the 137 victims of the eight massacres that marked the history of our country from 1969 to 1980, and was approved and welcomed by the City of Milan as part of Milano è Memoria, the schedule of initiatives created to make known, preserve hand down the history and identity of the city.

“We thank the ’Don’t Forget Me’ committee and artist Ferruccio Ascari,” said Milan City Council Culture Councillor Tommaso Sacchi, “for this important project. The work that will be placed in front of Piazza Fontana will not only be an ever-present look at the past, but will form the basis for the construction of a plural and conscious future, built on the truth of the victims, history and justice. Art is a very powerful means of communication due to its evocative capacity that touches the soul and the mind, leaving an unforgettable mark. Therefore, the work takes on an absolute value in the transmission of memory, a civic duty from which no one should shirk.”

The presence of this work in the heart of Milan will be for citizens and especially for the younger generations, an opportunity to reflect on a painful past of terror and on the value of memory to build a future free of fear and marked by free confrontation. In Italy there were, between 1969 and 1980, 137 dead and more than 570 wounded who still await a clear and complete verdict on the political responsibilities of the subversive extreme right and the so-called “deviated bodies of the State.” The Committee, with Non Dimenticarmi, intends to contribute to the affirmation of justice together with the families of the victims of the massacres of Piazza Fontana (Dec. 12, 1969), Gioia Tauro (July 22, 1970), Peteano (May 17, 1973), the Questura in Milan (May 17, 1974) and the Italicus train (Aug. 4, 1974), Piazza della Loggia (Aug. 4, 1974) and Piazza Arnaldo in Brescia (Dec. 16, 1976) and Bologna Station (1980).

As Ferruccio Ascari said, “Non Dimenticarmi does not end with its visible part since the accompanying action of political participation is an integral, not secondary, part of the work itself.”

The month of May will be dedicated to public presentations of the project. The next dates will be May 15 at 9 p.m. at the House of Memory (via Confalonieri 14) and May 31 at 9 p.m., at the House of Culture (via Borgogna 3). The project is self-financed and it is therefore possible to contribute to its realization through free donations through the platform at the link

In addition to the realization of the memorial Don’t Forget Me, the Committee promotes and organizes conferences, meetings, and publishes research to raise awareness among citizens and especially the younger generation about the history of the country during the years of the so-called Strategy of Tension and the massacres that characterized it.

Pictured is the render of the memorial.

Memorial to the victims of the Strategy of Tension unveiled in Milan

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