Statement by President Meloni on 81st anniversary of Fosse Ardeatine massacre

The events of March 24^th 81 years ago left one of the deepest wounds ever to be inflicted on Rome and on the whole of Italy. The Fosse Ardeatine massacre, carried out by occupying Nazi troops in retaliation for the Via Rasella attack by partisans in Rome, is one of the most painful episodes in our nation’s history, and it is the primary duty of institutions, at all levels, to tell the story of what happened and pass the memory of those events on, especially to the younger generations. Today, we pay tribute to the 335 victims of that unspeakable massacre and reaffirm our commitment to safeguarding and protecting the values of freedom and democracy on which our Republic is founded. 

[Courtesy translation]