Rome, 6 Apr. (LaPresse) – ‘Italy's journey towards freedom and the return to independence and democracy was long and painful, it cost innocent blood and immense sacrifices. The Italian people were able to redeem themselves from deep wounds by building unity and a future, opening, with the Constitution, a path of development, rights and peace. The memory of the ‘Benedicta’ massacre belongs to the history of the Italian Liberation and the Republic’. This was stated by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in a message sent to the Mayor of Bosio, Domenico Merlo, and to the President of the Benedicta Memorial Association, Daniele Borioli, on the 81st anniversary of the “Benedicta” massacre. ‘On the anniversary of the battles in the Ligurian-Piedmont Apennines, of the armed clashes around Capanne di Marcarolo and of the ruthless execution of the partisans taken prisoner in the abbey of Benedicta, I would like to renew my feelings of closeness to the descendants of the fallen patriots, to those who over the years have kept alive the memory of the heroism of the freedom fighters and gather together so that the memory is a transmission of values and commitment. The National Guard of the Republic of Salò was responsible for the massacre, and in those days of April 1944, other partisans belonging to a Garibaldi formation and an autonomous group were added to those victims, killed or deported to German concentration camps. The inhumanity of the Nazi-Fascists, who already sensed their final defeat was approaching, made the period between 1944 and 1945 even more cruel, with reprisals against the population. The events of the ‘Benedicta’ are a warning of the value of the freedom we have gained and the responsibility of each citizen in preserving it’, added the Head of State.
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