President Meloni’s statement on 30th anniversary of the Georgofili bombing
27 May 2023
A vicious attack against the State, a war declared on the Republic in revenge for the hard prison regime for mafia convicts, a severe wound inflicted on Italy and its artistic and cultural heritage. On the night between 26 and 27 May thirty years ago, the mafia decided to strike Florence with all its might, blowing up a car loaded with 250 kilograms of explosives underneath the Georgofili Academy. The collapse of the ‘Torre de’ Pulci’ tower killed Fabrizio and Angela Nencioni, together with their daughters Nadia, aged 9, and Caterina, who was just 50 days old.
22-year-old Dario Capolicchio also lost his life in the fire that broke out in the building opposite the tower. There were dozens of wounded and incalculable damage to heritage assets, with the shock wave from the bomb hitting the city’s historical centre - Palazzo Vecchio, the Church of Santo Stefano e Cecilia and the Uffizi Gallery – destroying some masterpieces forever and causing extensive damage to many works.
No Florentine, no Italian, will ever be able to forget the Georgofili bombing, just as no one can ever erase from memory those years that were so difficult for our nation, marred by other bloody attacks and massacres. A long trail of terror in the face of which the Italian people were able to react, demonstrating the strength of legality and the solidity of institutions.
The Government sends its heartfelt thoughts to all the victims’ relatives and wishes to once again thank those who serve the State, who, often in the shadows and faced with a thousand difficulties, have fought, and continue to fight, against the mafia. With their tireless work, they bring the final demise of organised crime ever closer.
[Courtesy translation]