On the night between 27 and 28 July thirty years ago, Cosa Nostra delivered another blow in its strategy of terrorism and subversion against the State, anti-mafia legislation and the hard prison regime for mafia convicts.
Mafiosi blew up three cars, one in Milan, in via Palestro, and two in Rome, in front of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano and the Church of San Giorgio al Velabro, with dire consequences: five people died, dozens were injured and there was extensive damage to historical, cultural and religious heritage.
We bow down once again in memory of the victims and renew our feelings of sympathy and solidarity with their relatives and loved ones.
No one will ever be able to forget those years that were so difficult for our nation, characterised by such ferocious attacks and a long trail of bloodshed and violence.
Evil did not have the last word. From the pain and suffering and the sacrifice of extraordinary individuals such as Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone, new hope was born: a social and cultural movement that countered the unbearable stench of organised crime with the scent of freedom. Over the last thirty years, our nation has come to realise that mafia groups can indeed be defeated. The Italian State and institutions have been able to translate this awareness into a body of legal, technical and operational instruments that have made it possible to combat the mafia phenomenon, making Italy a model at international level.
Fighting the mafia is a moral issue that guides the Government’s daily actions. It is the compass that guides our work and allows us to continue along the path of adapting anti-mafia legislation, making it more and more effective and able to respond to the new challenges of organised crime.
[Courtesy translation]