1974

November 20, Savona
Fanny Dallari, 82 years old, retired

The bombs of Savona
On 20 November 1974 the explosion of a bomb placed in the door of house no. 20 of Via Giacchero, in the city center, causes the death of Mrs. Fanny Dallari (82 years old, which occurred the following day) and of Virgilio Gambolati (71 years old, which occurred three months later due to the injuries sustained). It is the highest peak of political tension experienced by the city of Savona since the post-war period. The attacks take the population and political forces by surprise. Neo-fascist organizations have not had citizenship for more than thirty years and the more radical extra-parliamentary left is inconsistent. The PCI dominates the political scene unchallenged and social and trade union conflict remains at moderate positions. Yet the bombs were not long in coming: a dozen between the spring of ’74 and ’75, seven in just fifteen days in the month of November. They affect public buildings, private homes and infrastructure. Among the objectives of the hottest month are: the provincial palace, the “G. Guidobono”, a private house in via dello Sperone 1, a section of the Turin-Savona railway line, a building located in via Giacchero 22, the Varazze carabinieri station and a section of the Turin-Savona motorway. Furthermore, on 25 November three unexploded sticks of dynamite were found in the main square of Varazze. In August of the same year, two bombs were thrown against the Enel power plant in Vado Ligure and, on the eve of May 1st, a bomb exploded in the building where Senator Franco Varaldo, a leading leader of the Christian Democrats of Savona, lived. The attacks in November were followed by two more explosions in February, against a building near the Prefecture and an Enel pylon, and a few last gasps in the spring with the discovery of large quantities of explosives and the explosion of a device on the heights of Savona. Ordine Nero – a neo-fascist terrorist organization born from the ashes of Ordine Nuovo – claims paternity of some actions.