It was the night between 15 and 16 April 1973 when the house of Mario Battei - secretary of the local section of the Italian Social Movement - was devoured by flames, which sadly went down in history as the " Burning of Primavalle ". The arson was caused by a group of Potere Operaio militants . So on that third floor of via Bernardo da Bibbiena, the two brothers Virgilio and Stefano Mattei, aged 22 and 8, died .
" On April 16, 50 years ago, Italy and Rome experienced one of the darkest pages in national history ." So Prime Minister Girogia Meloni in a message sent to the president of the Mattei Brothers Association , Giampaolo Mattei , for the commemoration ceremony of the 50th anniversary of the massacre. For the president today it is necessary "to keep alive the memory of what happened, to avoid the danger of relapses and to lead Italy towards a full and true national reconciliation ". To cause the death of the Mattei brothers, hatred towards the political opponent. But Primavalle would not be an isolated episode . "The massacre - continues the premier - was followed by a long chain of death and pain that bloodied our cities, destroyed entire families and forever marked the lives of many of our compatriots, tearing apart our social fabric and helping to throw open the door to the abyss of terrorism".
And today, after 50 years, pain continues to throb in the hearts of those who have lived through tragic and delicate moments that should not be forgotten. Precisely for this reason, the Fratelli Mattei Association has kept the "flame" of memory burning since its foundation. «All political forces, institutions, educational agencies and society should also do so. We must convey a message of tolerance and respect to the new generations," concludes Meloni.
(Unioneonline/vf)
