President warns history can repeat itself on 82nd anniversary of Marzabotto massacre
Italy's President Sergio Mattarella warned that past atrocities can return, marking the 82nd anniversary of the Marzabotto massacre. Speaking at the ceremony commemorating the mass killing carried out by Nazi SS forces backed by Italian fascists between 29 September and 5 October 1944, the Head of State drew a direct line between historical memory and current threats to peace in Europe.
A warning rooted in Europe's present
"What happened can happen again," Mattarella stated, according to ANSA. He cited wars once again overwhelming rules and barriers meant to contain them, causing what he called a regression in intelligence and humanity. The President connected the commemoration directly to ongoing conflicts, noting that war has reappeared on the European continent and that new ambitions of power fuel neo-imperial aims.
His words carried weight beyond ritual. With active conflict on Europe's eastern flank, the President's warning about "new wills of power" spoke to residents who have seen refugees arrive and felt the economic strain of war.
From massacre to constitution
Mattarella traced the foundations of the Italian Republic to places like Marzabotto. The Italian Constitution emerged from sites where human dignity was offended, where pain was beyond words, he said. That founding document now lives through women, men and communities capable of generating hope.
The massacre at Monte Sole — the hilly area around Marzabotto in the Emilia-Romagna region — saw between 770 and 804 civilians killed over one week in autumn 1944, making it the worst civilian massacre carried out by Nazi forces in Western Europe during World War II. Victims included women, children, and elderly people.
Memory as democratic duty
Democratic Italy, post-war Europe, and the continent's freedom-based institutions rest on the sacrifice of those who paid "the highest and most unjust price," the President declared. Never forgetting remains more essential than ever as war returns to the continent.
The ceremony forms part of broader institutional efforts. The archive "Voci della strage di Monte Sole" — 134 hours of interviews with survivors and families — became available online this year through regional archives and Marzabotto's documentation center.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, marking the same anniversary, stated that remembering Marzabotto means understanding freedom is not guaranteed and requires constant effort to defend and preserve it.
Educational work continues
School projects continue bringing students to the site. Rome's municipal government runs a memory project for the 2025/2026 academic year sending third-year secondary students to visit Fossoli and Marzabotto. The local comprehensive institute in Marzabotto houses a dedicated memory section called "Lo scrigno della memoria" educating students on the massacre that occurred in their area.
A dedicated event on teaching memory took place on 26 September 2026 at Marzabotto's House of Culture and Memory, days before the formal commemoration.
