Piazza della Loggia bombing
Encyclopedia
The Piazza della Loggia bombing was a bombing that took place on the morning of 28 May 1974, in Brescia
, Italy
during an anti-fascist
protest which killed eight people and wounded over 90. The bomb was placed inside a rubbish bin at the east end of the Piazza (see location on Google Earth at lat=45.539690, lon=10.220526).
n far-right movement. However, this first sentence was cancelled in 1983 and the suspect absolved in 1985 by the Supreme Court of Cassation
. A second investigation led to the accusation of another far-right activist, who was thereafter absolved in 1989 because of insufficient evidence. A third investigation is still ongoing. On 19 May 2005, the Court of Cassation confirmed the arrest warrant against Delfo Zorzi
, a former member of the Ordine Nuovo
neo-fascist group, who was also suspected of being the material executor of the 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing
which marked the beginning of the "strategy of tension
" in the Italian peninsula. Alongside Delfo Zorzi, his neo-fascist comrades Carlo Maria Maggi
and Maurizio Tramonte, all members of the Ordine Nuovo group founded in 1956 by Pino Rauti
, are also suspected of having organized the Piazza della Loggia bombing. The presence of Tramonte in the place at the time of the blast has been confirmed in 2008 by the results of an anthropological forensic test on a picture taken that day.
Victims=
coalition claimed "that US intelligence agents were informed in advance about several rightwing terrorist bombings, including the December 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing
in Milan and the Piazza della Loggia bombing in Brescia five years later, but did nothing to alert the Italian authorities or to prevent the attacks from taking place. It also [alleged] that Pino Rauti [current leader of the Social Idea Movement
], a journalist and founder of the far-right Ordine Nuovo subversive organisation, received regular funding from a press officer at the US embassy in Rome. 'So even before the 'stabilising' plans that Atlantic circles had prepared for Italy became operational through the bombings, one of the leading members of the subversive right was literally in the pay of the American embassy in Rome,' the report says.
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during an anti-fascist
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
protest which killed eight people and wounded over 90. The bomb was placed inside a rubbish bin at the east end of the Piazza (see location on Google Earth at lat=45.539690, lon=10.220526).
Overview
The first judicial investigation led to the condemnation in 1979 of a member of the BresciaBrescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
n far-right movement. However, this first sentence was cancelled in 1983 and the suspect absolved in 1985 by the Supreme Court of Cassation
Court of Cassation (Italy)
The Supreme Court of Cassation is the major court of last resort in Italy. It has its seat in the Rome Hall of Justice.The Court of Cassation exists also to “ensure the observation and the correct interpretation of law” by ensuring the same application of law in the inferior and appeal courts...
. A second investigation led to the accusation of another far-right activist, who was thereafter absolved in 1989 because of insufficient evidence. A third investigation is still ongoing. On 19 May 2005, the Court of Cassation confirmed the arrest warrant against Delfo Zorzi
Delfo Zorzi
Delfo Zorzi, presently known as , is an Italian-born Japanese citizen accused of terrorism in his country of origin.-Biography:Delfo Zorzi/Roi Hagen was born in Arzignano, near Vicenza, Italy, on July 3, 1947, joined neo-fascist organization Ordine Nuovo in 1966, and later became head of the...
, a former member of the Ordine Nuovo
Ordine Nuovo
Ordine Nuovo , full name Centro Studi Ordine Nuovo, "New Order Scholarship Center") was an Italian far right cultural and extra-parliamentary political and terrorist organization founded by Pino Rauti in 1956...
neo-fascist group, who was also suspected of being the material executor of the 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing
Piazza Fontana bombing
The Piazza Fontana Bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred on December 12, 1969 at 16:37, when a bomb exploded at the headquarters of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana in Milan, Italy, killing 17 people and wounding 88...
which marked the beginning of the "strategy of tension
Strategy of tension
The strategy of tension is a theory that describes how to divide, manipulate, and control public opinion using fear, propaganda, disinformation, psychological warfare, agents provocateurs, and false flag terrorist actions....
" in the Italian peninsula. Alongside Delfo Zorzi, his neo-fascist comrades Carlo Maria Maggi
Carlo Maria Maggi
Carlo Maria Maggi was an Italian scholar, writer and poet. Despite being an Accademia della Crusca affiliate, he gained his fame as an author of "dialectal" works in Milanese language, for which he is considered the father of Milanese literature...
and Maurizio Tramonte, all members of the Ordine Nuovo group founded in 1956 by Pino Rauti
Pino Rauti
Giuseppe Umberto "Pino" Rauti is an Italian politician who has been a leading figure on the far right for many years...
, are also suspected of having organized the Piazza della Loggia bombing. The presence of Tramonte in the place at the time of the blast has been confirmed in 2008 by the results of an anthropological forensic test on a picture taken that day.
Victims=
- Giulietta Banzi Bazoli
- Livia Bottardi Milani
- Euplo Natali
- Luigi Pinto
- Bartolomeo Talenti
- Alberto Trebeschi
- Clementina Calzari Trebeschi
- Vittorio Zambarda
Conspiracy theories
A 2000 parliamentary report by the Olive TreeOlive Tree
The Olive Tree was a denomination used for several successive centre-left Italian political coalitions from 1995 to 2007.The historical leader and ideologue of these coalitions was Romano Prodi, Professor of Economics and former leftist Christian Democrat, who invented the name and the symbol of...
coalition claimed "that US intelligence agents were informed in advance about several rightwing terrorist bombings, including the December 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing
Piazza Fontana bombing
The Piazza Fontana Bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred on December 12, 1969 at 16:37, when a bomb exploded at the headquarters of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana in Milan, Italy, killing 17 people and wounding 88...
in Milan and the Piazza della Loggia bombing in Brescia five years later, but did nothing to alert the Italian authorities or to prevent the attacks from taking place. It also [alleged] that Pino Rauti [current leader of the Social Idea Movement
Social Idea Movement
Social Idea Movement is an Italian neo-fascist political party.It was founded in 2004 by a split of the Tricolour Flame party...
], a journalist and founder of the far-right Ordine Nuovo subversive organisation, received regular funding from a press officer at the US embassy in Rome. 'So even before the 'stabilising' plans that Atlantic circles had prepared for Italy became operational through the bombings, one of the leading members of the subversive right was literally in the pay of the American embassy in Rome,' the report says.
See also
- Strategy of tensionStrategy of tensionThe strategy of tension is a theory that describes how to divide, manipulate, and control public opinion using fear, propaganda, disinformation, psychological warfare, agents provocateurs, and false flag terrorist actions....
- Anni di piombo
- History of Italy (1970s-1980s)History of Italy (1970s-1980s)The Years of Lead was a period of socio-political turmoil in Italy that lasted from the late 1960s into the early 1980s. This period was marked by a wave of terrorism, initially called "Opposing Extremisms" and later renamed as the "Years of Lead"...