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Acca Larentia killings

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Davide King (talk | contribs) at 16:36, 8 January 2024 (→Aftermath: add). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Franco Bigonzetti
Born1965
Italy
Died7 January 1978(1978-01-07) (aged 12–13)
Rome, Italy
Cause of deathBallistric trauma
OccupationItalian Social Movement (MSI) member
Known forVictim of unsolved murder
Francesco Ciavatta
Born1961
Italy
Died7 January 1978(1978-01-07) (aged 16–17)
Rome, Italy
Cause of deathBallistric trauma
OccupationMSI member
Known forVictim of unsolved murder

The Acca Larentia massacre (Italian: strage di Acca Larentia) was the journalistic name given to a double homicide that occurred in Rome on 7 January 1978. Five teenagers of the Youth Front, the youth wing of the Italian Social Movement, a far-right and neo-fascist party, were ambushed while leaving the local party headquarters, and two of the teens (13 years old and 17 years old) were killed. The killings caused riots that same day, in which another MSI sympathiser was killed in clashes with police. The attack was perpetrated by members of militant far-left groups, although the culprits were never identified.[1]

Events

Five members of the MSI were fired upon with automatic weapons by a group of five or six assailants while they were leaving the local party headquarters in via Acca Larenzia to distribute pamphlets. Franco Bigonzetti and Francesco Ciavatta were killed, while Vincenzo Segneri, although wounded, managed to return to the party headquarters with Maurizio Lupini and Giuseppe D'Audino, both of whom were unharmed.[2]

Riots broke out later on the same day between the police and a crowd of MSI activists that had gathered at the site. Nineteen-year old Stefano Recchioni was fatally injured by a stray bullet and several others, including Youth Front national secretary Gianfranco Fini, were wounded by tear gas canisters. Carabinieir officer Edoardo Sivori was suspected of killing Recchioni but was never charged.[3]

Aftermath

The attack was claimed by a self-described Armed Nuclei for Territorial Counterpower (Nuclei Armati per il Contropotere Territoriale [it]). Five members of far-left group Lotta Continua were charged with the murders in 1987 but subsequently acquitted of all charges. A Škorpion submachine gun, proven by ballistics to having been used in the attack, was found in 1988 in a Red Brigades safehouse in Milan. The killings further polarised Italian politics during the Years of Lead and led to a fracture within the neo-fascist movement, with more radical militants blaming the party leadership for its failure to denounce the police for Recchioni's death and choosing to join emerging extremist groups like the Armed Revolutionary Nuclei.

Singer and songwriter Fabrizio Marzi dedicated the song Giovinezza (Youth) to Recchioni in 1979. Riots broke out during commemorations of the victims on 10 January 1979, with seventeen-year old Alberto Giaquinto being fatally injured by police officer Alessio Speranza, who was convicted after four trials and tean years of negligent excess of self-defense.[4] In 2013, then-mayor of Rome and former MSI member Gianni Alemanno named a street of the city after three victims.[5] In 2014, he further commemorated the victims and criticized Ignazio Marino, the-then mayor of the city, for not doing the same.[6]

In January 2024, hundreds of neo-fascists gathered the MSI's former headquarters to commemorate the Acca Larentia killings.[7][8] They did fascist salutes and screamed: "Camerati, present!" They also did a typical rallying cry at neo-fascist events: "For all fallen comrades!" This prompted criticism from the opposition and outrage.[9] Marco Vizzardelli, who was immediately identified by Digos for screaming "Long live anti-fascist Italy!" at La Scala, said that he was "outraged", adding: "Nobody stopped them, double standards."[10] Fabio Rampelli of Brothers of Italy (FdI) said that these were loose cannons and that FdI had nothing to do with it.[11]

Filmography

Rhythm 'n Blood, a film by Kaspar Hauser, was released in 2008. The documentary is based on the killings and the following raid on Radio Città Futura [it], a far-left radio station based in Rome.

See also

References

  1. ^ "5,000 Neo-Nazis Rally in Rome to Mark Acca Larentia Killings". The Jerusalem Post. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  2. ^ Threats to Democracy: The Radical Right in Italy after the War ISBN 978-0-691-04499-6 p. 166
  3. ^ "The Fascist Movement that has Brought Musollini back to the Mainstream". The Guardian. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  4. ^ https://tg24.sky.it/cronaca/approfondimenti/strage-acca-larentia
  5. ^ https://www.romatoday.it/politica/acca-larentia-saluti-romani-polemica.html
  6. ^ https://www.romatoday.it/cronaca/acca-larentia-presente-7-gennaio-2014.html
  7. ^ "Acca Larentia, saluto romano e 'presente': così i militanti di estrema destra ricordano la strage. Rocca: 'Non ci sono morti di serie B'". la Repubblica (in Italian). 7 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Acca Larenzia, polemiche sui saluti romani. Il video dell'adunata nera, Schlein: «Interrogazione. Meloni non ha niente da dire?». M5s presenterà esposto in Procura". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  9. ^ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/fascist-rally-rome-sparks-italian-opposition-outrage-2024-01-08/
  10. ^ "Marco Vizzardelli, il loggionista della Scala identificato dalla digos: 'I saluti fascisti di Acca Larentia? Sono indignato. Nessuno li ha fermati, due pesi e due misure'". la Repubblica (in Italian). 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Acca Larentia, centinaia di saluti romani: è il 2024 ma sembra Roma nel 1924. Rampelli: 'Cani sciolti, FdI non c'entra'. Esposto M5S". la Repubblica (in Italian). 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.

Bibliography

  • Andrea Colombo, Storia Nera, Bologna La verità di Francesca Mambro e Valerio Fioravanti, Cairo editore, 2007, ISBN 978-88-6052-091-3.
  • Luca Telese, Cuori Neri. Dal rogo di Primavalle alla morte di Ramelli, 2006, ISBN 88-200-3615-0.
  • Massimiliano Morelli, Acca Larentia-Asfalto nero sangue, 2008, ISBN 978-88-88329-84-0.
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