Acca Larentia killings

Franco Bigonzetti
Born(1958-03-05)5 March 1958
Rome, Italy
Died7 January 1978(1978-01-07) (aged 19)
Rome, Italy
Cause of deathBallistic trauma
OccupationItalian Social Movement (MSI) member
Known forVictim of unsolved murder
Francesco Ciavatta
Born(1959-09-11)11 September 1959
Montagano, Italy
Died7 January 1978(1978-01-07) (aged 18)
Rome, Italy
Cause of deathBallistic trauma
OccupationMSI member
Known forVictim of unsolved murder

The Acca Larentia killings, also known in Italy as the Acca Larentia massacre (Italian: strage di Acca Larenzia), were a double homicide that occurred in Rome on 7 January 1978.[1][2][3] The attack was claimed by the self-described Nuclei Armati per il Contropotere Territoriale [it] (Armed Nuclei for Territorial Counterpower). Members of militant far-left groups were charged but acquitted, and the culprits were never identified.[4]

Five teenagers of the Youth Front, the youth wing of the Italian Social Movement, a far-right and neo-fascist party, were ambushed while leaving the local party headquarters, and two of the teens (aged 18 and 19) were killed. The killings caused riots that same day, in which another MSI sympathiser was killed in clashes with police.[5] Commemorations for the Acca Larentia killings take place each year and are controversial. As of 2024, opposition parties said such displays of pro-fascist sentiment was outlawed and demanded an investigation.[6]

  1. ^ Cazzullo, Aldo (18 January 2006). "La strage dimenticata degli anni di piombo". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). ISSN 2499-0485. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  2. ^ Telese, Luca (7 January 2008). "Strage di Acca Larentia Si riapre la guerra civile". Il Giornale (in Italian). ISSN 1124-8831. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  3. ^ Piccirilli, Piccirilli (8 January 2009). "Nel 1978 l'assassinio dei tre militanti del Msi". Il Tempo (in Italian). ISSN 1721-4084. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  4. ^ Goff Klein, Jacob (10 January 2018). "5,000 Neo-Nazis Rally in Rome to Mark Acca Larentia Killings". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  5. ^ "DIGOS to send report to prosecutors on Acca Larentia case" (in Italian). ANSA. 8 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Fascist rally in Rome sparks Italian opposition outrage". Reuters. 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.