List of massacres in Italy

The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in Italy and its predecessors (numbers may be approximate): they are divided by the presence of culpability or not.

List parameters

A massacre is the killing of a large number of people, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves.

The following are the parameters used to create the list:

List of culpable massacres

Archaic Italy
Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
Battle of Selinus 409 BC Selinus 16,000 Carthaginian Army 16,000 citizens of Selinus killed in battle and massacre by Carthaginian Army under Hannibal Mago. City razed.[1]
Battle of Himera 409 BC Himera 3,000 Carthaginian Army 3,000 Greek prisoners of war tortured and sacrificed by Carthaginian Army under Hannibal Mago. City razed.[2]
Siege of Akragas December 406 BC Akragas Population of Akragas Carthaginian Army Greek population massacred by Carthaginian Army under Himilco[3]
Siege of Motya Summer 398 BC Motya Population of Motya Syracuse Phoenician population of Motya killed by Greek troops during assault on the city.

Roman Italy
Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
Agathocles' coup 317 BC Syracuse 4,000 Agathocles' army 4,000 wealthy Syracusans killed by Agathocles
Ausona massacre 314 BC Ausona Entire Aurunci people Republican Roman Army Entire Aurunci people exterminated by Roman army
Gela massacre 311 BC Gela 4,000 Agathocles' army 4,000 Geloans slaughtered by Agathocles and their property stolen
1st Cluviae massacre 311 BC Cluviae Roman prisoners of war Samnites Roman prisoners of war killed by Samnites
2nd Cluviae massacre 311 BC Cluviae Adult male population Republican Roman Army Adult male population of Cluviae put to death by Roman army under consul Gaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus
Battle of Torgium 305 BC Torgium 4,000–7,000 Agathocles' army 4,000–7,000 troops of Deinocrates slaughtered by Agathocles after their surrender on promises of mercy
Aequi massacre 304 BC Aequi Most Aequians Republican Roman Army Majority of Aequi people killed by Roman army
Messana massacre 289 BC Messina Population of Messana Mamertines Population of Messana murdered by mercenary Mamertines
Rhegium massacre 280 BC Rhegium Male population of Messana Campanian mercenaries Male population of Rhegium massacred by rebellious Campanian mercenaries of Rome
Taurasia massacre November 218 BC Taurasia Population of Taurasia Carthaginian Army Population of the Taurini capital of Taurasia exterminated by Carthaginian Army under Hannibal after three-day siege.[4]
Casilinum massacre August 216 BC Casilinum Pro-Carthaginian population of Casilinum Republican Roman Army Pro-Carthaginian population of Casilinum killed by Roman garrison.[5]
Leontini massacre 214 BC Lentini 2,000 Republican Roman Army 2,000 Roman deserters flogged and beheaded by troops of Marcus Claudius Marcellus.[6]
Enna massacre 213 BC Enna Population of Enna Republican Roman Army Defenceless crowd massacred by Roman garrison under governor Lucius Pinarius.[7]
Battle of Capua 211 BC Teanum, Cales 53 Republican Roman Army 53 Capuan aristocrats executed by Roman Army under Quintus Fulvius Flaccus.[8]
Agrigentum massacre 210 BC Agrigento Agrigentan elites Republican Roman Army Agrigentan elites massacred by Roman army under consul Marcus Valerius Laevinus. Population sold to slavery. Town looted.[9]
Tarentum massacre 209 BC Tarentum Population of Tarentum Republican Roman Army Population massacred by Roman Army under proconsul Fabius Maximus, 30,000 sold to slavery.[10]
Enna massacre 135 BC Enna Population of Enna Slave rebels Slaves under Eunus massacre town population and rape women
Asculum massacre 89 BC Asculum Majority of the population Republican Roman Army Population massacred by Roman Army under consul Pompeius Strabo
Rome massacres 87 BC Rome Several hundred Gaius Marius Several hundred supporters of Sulla massacred by Marius' rampaging army
Sulla's proscriptions 82 BC Roman Italy 4,700 Sulla 4,700 enemies of the state murdered on orders of Sulla
Appian Way crucifixions 71 BC Via Appia 6,000 Republican Roman Army 6,000 slave rebel prisoners crucified by Marcus Licinius Crassus
Proscription of 43 BC 43 BC Roman Italy 2,000 Second Triumvirate 2,000 enemies of the Second Triumvirate murdered[11]
Tiberius' purge Late 31 Roman Italy Supporters of Sejanus Imperial Roman Army Sejanus and his supporters killed on orders of Tiberius.[12]
Ticinum massacre 13 August 408 Ticinum 7+ Imperial Roman Army 7 high-ranking supporters of Stilicho killed by Roman army at the instigation of Olympius. Many civilians in Ticinum killed afterward.[13]
Massacre of Goths Late 408 Roman Italy Thousands Imperial Roman Army Thousands of Gothic soldiers in the Roman Army and their families killed in anti-Germanic pogrom.[14]

Ostrogothic Italy
Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
Siege of Ravenna (490–493) 5 March 493 Ravenna Odoacer and his followers Ostrogothic Kingdom Odoacer and his men massacred by Ostrogoths under Theoderic the Great
Siege of Naples (536) November 536 Naples Population of Naples Byzantine army Naples sacked and the population massacred by Byzantine army under Belisarius
Ravenna massacre 537 Ravenna Roman aristocrats Ostrogothic Kingdom Roman aristocratic hostages executed on orders of Witiges
Milan massacre March 539 Mediolanum All males of Milan Ostrogothic Kingdom Male population of Milan slain by Ostrogothic troops after siege. Women enslaved.[15]
Ticinum massacre 539 Ticinum Gothic women and children Merovingian Franks Gothic women and children sacrificed alive by Franks under Theudebert I[16]
Totila's sack of Rome 550 Rome Most inhabitants of Rome Ostrogothic Kingdom Population of Rome massacred after siege by Ostrogothic troops under Totila. Women spared.
Massacre of aristocratic children Late 552 Po Valley 300 Ostrogothic Kingdom 300 Roman aristocratic children killed by Ostrogoths

Medieval Italy
Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
Siege of Syracuse (877–878) 21 May 878 Syracuse 4,000 Aghlabids 4,000 Syracusans massacred by Aghlabid Muslim army[17]
Sack of Taormina 1 August 902 Taormina Population of Taormina Aghlabids Taormina burned and population massacred
Fatimid sack of Genoa 16 August 935 Genoa Male population Fatimid navy Male population of Genoa exterminated by Fatimids, women and children enslaved
Siege of Rometta May 965 Rometta Population of Rometta Kalbids Population of Rometta massacred, survivors enslaved, city colonized by Muslims.[18]
Siege of Crema 1159 Crema, Lombardy 40 Holy Roman Empire Imperial army under Frederick Barbarossa executes 40 hostages
Palermo massacre 1161 Palermo Muslim population of Palermo Christian mob Muslim population of Palermo slaughtered by Christian mob
Salerno massacre Late 1194 Salerno Population of Salerno Holy Roman Empire Imperial army under Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor sacks Salerno, massacres and enslaves population
Sicilian Vespers 1282 Sicily 3,000 Ghibelline Sicilians 3,000 French men and women killed by rebels
Lucera massacre 1300 Lucera Muslim population Kingdom of Naples Muslim population of Lucera massacred and 9,000 sold to slavery
Cesena bloodbath 1 February 1377 Cesena 2,500 Papal States 2,500 people massacred by Breton troops under Cardinal Robert of Geneva during the War of the Eight Saints
Lozio massacre 25 December 1410 Lozio Nobili family Federici family Nobili family exterminated as part of the struggle between the Guelphs and Ghibellines.
Massacre of the Trinci 10 January 1421 Nocera Umbra 5 Pietro di Rasiglia Pietro di Rasiglia kills most of the Trinci family in a personal vendetta
Varano massacre 10 October 1434 Camerino 4 Rebels 4 members of the Varano family killed by rebels outside a church in Camerino.
Chiavelli massacre 26 May 1435 Fabriano 14 Rebels Rebels massacre 14 people, including 5 Chiavellis
Massacre of the Assumption 15 August 1474 Modica 360 Christian mob Christians kill 360 Jews in Modica's La Giudecca
Otranto massacre 11 August 1480 Otranto 6,000 Ottoman Empire Ottoman Turks massacre and enslave the population of Otranto

Early Modern Italy
Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
Sack of Rapallo 8 September 1494 Rapallo Unknown Swiss mercenaries Swiss mercenaries under French command slaughter the population of Rapallo
Sack of Mordano 20 October 1494 Mordano 300–1,500 French Army and Swiss mercenaries Mordano sacked by French and Swiss troops
Sack of Fivizzano October 1494 Fivizzano Unknown French Army
Sack of Castel Fiorentino 20 October 1494 Castel Fiorentino Unknown French Army
Sack of Monte Fortino January 1495 Montefortino 300 French Army
Sack of Monte San Giovanni February 1495 Monte San Giovanni Campano 700–800 French Army
Sack of Gaeta June 1495 Gaeta 250–900 French Army
Sack of Toscanella June 1495 Toscanella 800 French Army
Sack of Ponte di Sacco July 1496 Ponsacco Civilian population Florentine Army
Sack of Rocca d'Arazzo August 1499 Rocca d'Arazzo Civilian population French Army
Sack of Annone August 1499 Annone 700 French Army
Sack of Forlì January 1500 Forlì 450 French Army and Swiss mercenaries
Sack of Tortona February 1500 Tortona Civilian population Swiss mercenaries
Sack of Faenza April 1501 Faenza Civilian population Gascons, Swiss, Italians
Sack of Capua 25 July 1501 Capua 2,000–5,000 French Army Capua sacked by French troops
Sack of Fossombrone October 1502 Fossombrone Civilian population Borgia's troops
Sack of Rimini October 1503 Rimini 360 Borgia's troops
Sack of Treviglio May 1509 Treviglio Civilian population Venetian Army
Sack of Peschiera May 1509 Peschiera Civilian population and garrison French Army
Sack of Monselice August 1509 Monselice Civilian population Army of the Holy Roman Empire
Venetian Army
Sack of Feltre August 1509 Feltre Civilian population Army of the Holy Roman Empire
Venetian Army
Sack of Legnano May 1510 Legnano 2,000 French Army
Barbarano massacre May 1510 Barbarano Mossano 700–2,000 Army of the Holy Roman Empire
Sack of Monselice July 1510 Monselice Civilian population Spanish Army
Army of the Holy Roman Empire
Sack of Brescia 18 February 1512 Brescia 8,000 French Army Brescia sacked by troops of Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours
Sack of Ravenna 12 April 1512 Ravenna 17,000 French Army Ravenna sacked by French troops after the Battle of Ravenna (1512).
Sack of Prato 29 August 1512 Prato 4,000–6,000 Spanish Army Prato sacked by Spanish troops
Sack of Lodi May 1516 Lodi Civilian population Swiss mercenaries
Sack of Como December 1521 Como Civilian population Spanish Army
Sack of Genoa 30–31 May 1522 Genoa 5,000 Spanish Army Genoa sacked by Spanish troops
Sack of Rome (1527) 6 May 1527 Rome 4,000 Army of the Holy Roman Empire
Spanish Army		 Rome sacked by troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Sack of Pavia (1527) October 1527 Pavia Civilian population French Army
Venetian Army
Sack of Pavia May 1528 Pavia Civilian population Army of the Holy Roman Empire
Spanish Army
Sack of Pavia September 1528 Pavia Civilian population Army of the Holy Roman Empire
Spanish Army
Massacre of Waldensians in Calabria May/June 1561 Calabria 600–6,000 Roman Inquisition
Spanish Army		 600–6,000 Waldensians killed by Inquisitorial and Spanish forces
Valtellina massacre 18–23 July 1620 Valtellina 300–600 Catholics 300–600 Protestants killed by pro-Spanish Catholics
Piedmontese Easter April 1655 Piedmont 1,712–6,000 Savoyard Army Waldensians killed by ducal troops[19][20][21]
Lauria massacre 9 August 1806 Lauria 1,000 Grande Armée City destroyed and population massacred by French Army under Marshal André Masséna

Risorgimento
Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
Cesena and Forlì massacres January 1832 Papal States 38 Papal States Papal troops suppress liberal rebellion and kill 38.
Ten Days of Brescia 1 April 1849 Brescia 16 Austrian Army 16 Brescians executed by Austrian Army[22]
Cignoli family massacre 20 May 1859 Torricella Verzate 9 Austrian Army Austrian troops under Karl von Urban execute 9 civilians.
Bronte riots 2 August 1860 Bronte 21 Red Shirts 16 people killed in the riots, 5 sentenced to death as rioters by a drumhead court
Montefalcione massacre 9 July 1861 Montefalcione 97–150 Royal Italian Army Mass shooting of civilians and former Sicilian soldiers.
Auletta massacre 28 July 1861 Auletta 45–130 Bersaglieri
Hungarian Legion		 Royal troops attack civilian population of Auletta. 45–130 killed and 200 arrested.
Ruvo del Monte massacre 10 August 1861 Potenza 30 Royal Italian Army
National Guard		 Royal Army and National Guard round up civilian population and shoot 30 pro-Bourbon partisans
Pontelandolfo and Casalduni massacre 14 August 1861 Province of Benevento 13 Bersaglieri Bersaglieri soldiers kill 13 civilians
Pietrarsa massacre 6 August 1863 Portici 4 Bersaglieri Royal troops kill 4 Officine di Pietrarsa workers and wound 17.
1864 Turin massacre 21 September 1864 Piazza Castello, Turin 62 (+138 wounded) Royal Italian Army
Carabinieri		 Royal Army and Carabinieri kill unarmed civilians
Seven and a Half Days Revolt 16-22 September 1866 Palermo Unknown (tens or hundreds estimated) Royal Italian Army Royal Italian Army suppress rebellion mainly against enforced conscription

Kingdom of Italy
Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
Caltavuturo massacre 20 January 1893 Caltavuturo 13 (21 wounded) Royal Italian Army and Carabinieri 13 Fasci Siciliani protesters shot by army and police[23]
Giardinello massacre 10 December 1893 Giardinello 11 (12 wounded) Royal Italian Army 11 Fasci Siciliani protesters shot by army and guards[24]
Lercara Friddi massacre 25 December 1893 Lercara Friddi 7–11 (12 wounded) Royal Italian Army 7–11 Fasci Siciliani protesters shot by army[25]
Bava Beccaris massacre 9 May 1898 Milan 118–450 (+400-2,000 wounded) Royal Italian Army troops under General Fiorenzo Bava Beccaris fired on rioters[26]
Buggerru massacre 4 September 1904 Buggerru 4 (+11 wounded) Royal Italian Army Army troops kill 4 protesting miners in Sardinia
Itri massacre 13 July 1911 Itri 8 (+60 wounded) Carabinieri Carabinieri kill Sardinian workers in mainland Italy because they refused to pay protection to the local mafia
Ancona revolt [it] 25-28 June 1920 Ancona 9 Royal Italian Army
Panicale massacre 15 July 1920 Panicale 6 (+14 wounded) Carabinieri Carabinieri suppress farmers' demonstration
Palazzo d'Accursio massacre 21 November 1920 Bologna 10 (+58 wounded) Red Guards Red Guards kill 10 Italian Socialist Party officials with hand grenades
Canneto Sabino massacre 11 December 1920 Province of Rieti 11 (+13 wounded) Carabinieri Carabinieri kill 11 protesting workers
Castello Estense massacre 20 December 1920 Ferrara 6 Fascists and socialists 4 fascists and 2 socialists killed in street fight
Empoli massacre 1 March 1921 Empoli 9 (+18 wounded) Red Guards and Italian Communist Party Red Guards and Communists kill 9 soldiers
Diana hotel massacre 23 March 1921 Milan 17 (+80 wounded) Anarchists Anarchists kill 17 in bombing
Sarzano massacre 21 July 1921 Sarzana 11 Carabinieri Carabinieri kill 11 fascists

Fascist Italy
Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
1922 Turin massacre 20 December 1922 Turin 11 (+26 wounded) Squadrismo Fascist Squadrismo under Piero Brandimarte kill 11 communists and trade unionists
Librizzi massacre 25 June 1925 Messina 9 (+4 wounded) Rosario Tranchita Spree shooting
San Giovanni in Fiore massacre 2 August 1925 San Giovanni in Fiore 5 (+28 wounded) Squadrismo Fascist Squadrismo kill communists, socialists and farmers
Gruaro massacre March 1933 Gruaro 28 Authorities 28 children killed by vaccine

Second World War
See also: List of massacres in the Italian Social Republic
Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
Biscari massacre 14 July 1943 Biscari (now Acate) 71 United States Army, 180th Infantry Regiment POWs killed by US troops in two incidents[27]
Canicattì massacre 14 July 1943 Canicattì 8 United States Army US troops under Colonel McCaffrey fired on looters[28][29]
Castiglione massacre 12–14 August 1943 Castiglione di Sicilia 16 1st Fallschirm-Panzer Division Hermann Göring 1st Fallschirm-Panzer Division Hermann Göring massacres 16 civilians and wounds 20.
Boves massacre 8 September 1943 Boves 23 killed and 22 wounded 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Mass killing by German occupation troops under Joachim Peiper
Lake Maggiore massacres September–October 1943 Lake Maggiore 56 1st SS Panzer Division Murder of 56 predominantly Italian Jews despite strict German orders not to carry out any violence against civilians
Caiazzo massacre 13 October 1943 Caiazzo 22 29th Panzergrenadier Regiment Mass killing by German occupation troops under Lt. Richard Heinz Wolfgang Lehnigk-Emden
Ardeatine massacre 24 March 1944 Rome 335 Schutzstaffel, SD, Gestapo Mass killing by German occupation troops (SD-Gestapo led by Herbert Kappler)[30]
Guardistallo massacre 19 June 1944 Guardistallo 57 19th Luftwaffe Field Division 57 Italian civilians killed in massacre by Luftwaffe Field Division[31]
Piazza Tasso massacre 17 July 1944 Florence 5 Italian fascist militia, German Army 5 Italian civilians killed in massacre by Fascists and German Army
Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre 12 August 1944 Sant'Anna di Stazzema 560 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS, 36th Brigata Nera Mass killing by German occupation troops (16th SS Division) and Italian collaborators (16th Brigade)[32][33][34]
San Terenzo Monti massacre 17–19 August 1944 Fivizzano 159 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division 159 Italian civilians killed by SS soldiers as reprisal for partisan activity
Padule di Fucecchio massacre 23 August 1944 Padule di Fucecchio, Tuscany 184 26th Panzer Division Up to 184 Italian civilians as a reprisal for a partisan attack on two German soldiers. Massacre carried out by soldiers of the 26th Panzer Division.[35]
Vinca massacre 24–27 August 1944 Fivizzano 162 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division 162 Italian civilians killed by SS soldiers as reprisal for partisan activity
Certosa di Farneta massacre 2 September 1944 Certosa di Farneta 44 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Mass killing by 16th SS Division of 44 civilians at monastery in near Lucca[36]
Marzabotto massacre 29 September 1944 Marzabotto 770+ 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Mass killing by German occupation troops (16th SS)[37]
Via Maqueda massacre 19 October 1944 Palermo 24 139th Infantry Regiment "Bari" Royal Italian troops massacre protesting civilians, with 24 killed and 158 injured.
Bombing of Gorla 20 October 1944 Milan 614 US Army Air Force USAAF bombers discarded their bombload on a densely inhabited area: among the victims, 184 pupils of the Gorla elementary school
Porzûs massacre 7 February 1945 Porzûs, Faedis 17 (1 wounded) Communist partisans Communist partisans execute 17 members of the Catholic partisan brigade "Brigata Osoppo".
Salussola massacre 9 March 1945 Salussola 20 (1 wounded) Blackshirts 20 Italian partisans tortured and executed by Fascist Blackshirts[38]
Rovetta massacre 28 April 1945 Salussola 43 Partisans under British SOE command 43 National Republican Guard prisoners executed by partisans under British command:[39]
Schio massacre 6 July 1945 Schio 54 Partisans A group of ex-partisans of the Garibaldi Partisan Division "Ateo Garemi" and officers of the auxiliary partisan police kill suspected fascists among 99 inmates detained in the city jail.
Villarbasse massacre 20 November 1945 Villarbasse 10 Bandits 3 of the perpetrators were sentenced to death; this was the last time the death penalty was applied in Italy

Republic of Italy
Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
Via Medina massacre 11 June 1946 Naples 9 Unknown 9 monarchists killed and hundreds wounded by bomb
Vergarola explosion 18 August 1946 Pula 65 Unknown 65 killed by detonated explosives
Portella della Ginestra massacre 1 May 1947 Piana degli Albanesi 11 (+33 wounded) Bandits Attack on May Day celebrations by bandits[40]
Melissa massacre 29 October 1949 Calabria 3 Police Police kill three demonstrating peasants. 15 wounded.
Modena United Foundries massacre 9 January 1950 Modena 6 Carabinieri
Police		 Authorities kill 6 and injure 200 protesters
Trieste revolt 5–6 November 1953 Trieste 6 Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories
Venezia Giulia Police Force		 6 killed by police under British command
Reggio Emilia massacre 7 July 1960 Reggio Emilia 5 Police Police shoot and kill five demonstrators. At least 16 injured.
Ciaculli massacre 30 June 1963 Ciaculli 7 Mafia car bombing of police by Mafia[41]
Malga Sasso massacre 9 September 1966 Brenner 3 South Tyrolean Liberation Committee 3 policemen killed by South Tyrolean secessionists
Cima Vallona massacre 25 June 1967 San Nicolò di Comelico 4 South Tyrolean Liberation Committee 4 soldiers killed by South Tyrolean secessionists
Viale Lazio massacre 10 December 1969 Palermo 5 Mafia Clan warfare by Mafia[42]
Piazza Fontana bombing 12 December 1969 Milan 17 (+88 wounded) Ordine Nuovo Bombing by right-wing terrorists[43]
Gioia Tauro massacre 22 July 1970 Gioia Tauro 6 Vito Silverini, Vincenzo Caracciolo and Giuseppe Scarcella Train derailed by explosive. Six killed and 66 wounded.
Peteano massacre 31 May 1972 Sagrado 3 Ordine Nuovo Three Carabinieri killed in right-wing terrorist bombing
Milan police HQ massacre 17 May 1973 Milan 4 Gianfranco Bertoli 4 killed and 52 injured in bombing.
Argo 16 bombing 23 November 1973 Marghera 4 Unknown A C-47 aircraft called the Argo 16 is bombed by unknown terrorists, killing all four people on board.
1973 Rome airport attacks and hijacking 17 December 1973 Fiumicino 34 Palestinian terrorists Airport terminal invasion, firebombing and hijacking of two aircraft by Palestinian terrorists
Piazza della Loggia bombing 28 May 1974 Brescia 8 (+>90 wounded) Ordine Nuovo Bombing by right-wing terrorists[44]
Italicus Express bombing 4 August 1974 San Benedetto Val di Sambro 12 (+48 wounded) Ordine Nero Bombing by right-wing terrorists[45]
Via Caravaggio massacre 30–31 October 1975 Naples 4 Unknown
Acca Larentia killings 7 January 1978 Rome 3 Left-wing extremists Killing of right-wing activists by left-wing terrorists
Kidnapping of Aldo Moro 16 March 1978 - 9 May 1978 Rome 6 Red Brigades 5 police officers killed instantly and Aldo Moro killed after two months
Via Schievano massacre 8 January 1980 Milan 3 Red Brigades Red Brigades shoot and kill three police officers
Ustica massacre 27 June 1980 Tyrrhenian Sea near Ustica 81 Unknown Airplane brought down by a terrorist bomb or air-to-air missile (findings disputed)[46]
Bologna Station massacre 2 August 1980 Bologna 85 (+>200 wounded) Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari bombing by right-wing terrorists[47]
Circonvallazione massacre 16 June 1982 Palermo 5 Mafia
Salerno massacre 26 August 1982 Salerno 3 Red Brigades One soldier and two policemen killed by Red Brigades terrorists
Via Carini massacre 3 September 1982 Palermo 3 Mafia Attack on gen. Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa
Chinnici massacre [it] 29 July 1983 Palermo 5 Mafia Car bombing by Mafia, Rocco Chinnici killed
Torre Annunziata massacre 26 August 1984 Torre Annunziata 8 Mafia 7 injured
Train 904 bombing 23 December 1984 San Benedetto Val di Sambro 17 (+267 wounded) Mafia Terrorist attack by Mafia[48]
Pizzolungo massacre 2 April 1985 Erice 3 (+5 wounded) Mafia Attack on magistrate C Palermo by Mafia[49]
Fiumicino massacre 27 December 1985 Rome 16 Abu Nidal Organization Attack at Rome's international airport, probably carried out by Abu Nidal Organization, who also struck at Vienna's international airport on the same day[50]
1988 Naples bombing 14 April 1988 Naples 5 (15 injured) Japanese Red Army 4 Italians and 1 American killed by Japanese Red Army car bomb.
Pescopagano massacre 24 April 1990 Pescopagano 5 (7 injured) Camorra 5 killed in inter-criminal conflict, 7 injured[51]
Gela massacre 27 November 1990 Gela 8 (11 injured) Mafia Mafia killings
Capaci bombing 23 May 1992 Capaci 5 Mafia Attack on magistrate G Falcone by Mafia[52]
Via D'Amelio massacre 19 July 1992 Palermo 6 Mafia Attack on magistrate P Borsellino by Mafia[53]
Via dei Georgofili massacre 27 May 1993 Florence 5 (+48 wounded) Mafia Car bomb by Mafia[54]
Via Palestro massacre 27 July 1993 Milan 5 (+12 wounded) Mafia Car bombing by Mafia[55]
Chilivani massacre 16 August 1995 Ozieri 3 Graziano Palmas, Andrea Gusinu 2 Carabinieri and one bandit killed
Ferdinand Gamper serial killings 8 February 1996 - 1° March 1996 South Tyrol 6 Ferdinand Gamper Also known as "The monster of Merano"
Buonvicino massacre 19 November 1996 Buonvicino, Calabria 6 Alfredo Valente The police officer Alfredo Valente shot and killed six members of his ex-wife's family with a pistol. He was arrested at another location.[56]
Castel Volturno massacre 18 September 2008 Castel Volturno 7 (+1 injured) Casalesi clan Seven people, including six African immigrants killed at random by the Casalesi clan.

List of non-culpable massacres and natural disasters

Roman Italy
Name Date Location Deaths Notes
Fidenae amphitheater disaster 27 AD Fidenae 20,000+
Eruption of Vesuvius 24 October 79 AD Naples 1,500-3,500 possibly up to 16,000 deaths. One of the deadliest eruption in European history. Ejecting molten rock, pulverized pumice and hot ash at 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing 100,000 times the thermal energy of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Circus Maximus partial collapse 284 or 286 AD Rome 13,000 Collapse of a wall of Circus Maximus.[57]
Circus Maximus partial collapse 140 AD Rome 1,112 Collapse of the upper tier of the Circus Maximus.[58]

Medieval Italy
Name Date Location Deaths Notes
1169 Sicily earthquake 4 February 1169 Ionian Sea, near Catania 15,000-25,000 Nearly all Catania people killed. Caused tsunami.
1222 Brescia earthquake 25 December 1222 Capriano del Colle 10,000+
1348 Friuli earthquake 25 January 1348 Tolmezzo, Venzone and Gemona del Friuli 10,000 The earthquake hit in the same year that the Great Plague ravaged Italy.
1456 Central Italy earthquakes 5 December 1456 Pontelandolfo 30,000-70,000 Largest earthquake on the Italian Peninsula.

Modern Italy
Name Date Location Deaths Notes
1627 Gargano earthquake 30 July 1627 San Severo 5,000 The largest and deadliest seismic event ever recorded in the Apulia region. Caused tsunami.
1638 Calabrian earthquakes 27 March 1638 Near Savuto river 9,581-30,000
1693 Sicily earthquake 11 January 1693 Near Catania 60,000 Almost two-thirds of the entire population of Catania were killed. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, the most powerful in Italian recorded history
1703 Apennine earthquakes 14 January 1703 Norcia, Montereale, L'Aquila 10,000+
Brescia explosion 18 August 1769 Brescia 3,000 A Lightning bolt caused the explosion of a gunpowder depot, destroying one-sixth of the city.
1783 Calabrian earthquakes 4 February 1783 Palmi, Calabria 32,000-50,000 The earthquakes occurred over a period of nearly two months. Caused tsunami.
1805 Molise earthquake 26 July 1805 Bojano-Macchiagodena 5,573
1857 Basilicata earthquake 16 December 1857 Montemurro 10,000 At the time it was the third-largest known earthquake.
Limito rail disaster [it] 28 November 1893 Pioltello 40

XX and XXI centuries
Name Date Location Deaths Notes
1905 Calabria earthquake 8 September 1905 Epicenter near Vibo Valentia 557-2,500 Caused a tsunami.
SS Sirio sinking 4 August 1906 Near Cape Palos, Cartagena, Spain.

(**)

 295-500 The shipwreck gained notoriety because the captain, Giuseppe Piccone, abandoned ship at the first opportunity.
1907 Calabria earthquake 23 October 1907 Ferruzzano 167
1908 Messina earthquake 28 December 1908 Strait of Messina 75,000 - 82,000 One of the worst earthquakes in the 20th century. Caused a tsunami.
1915 Avezzano earthquake 13 January 1915 Avezzano 29,978 - 32,610
1919 Verona Caproni Ca.48 crash 2 August 1919 Verona 14/15/17 (sources vary)
1920 Garfagnana earthquake 7 September 1920 Garfagnana 171
Gleno Dam failure 1 December 1923 Bergamo 356
SS Principessa Mafalda sinking 25 October 1927 near the Abrolhos Archipelago, 80 miles off Salvador de Bahia, Brazil

(**)

 314 The sinking resulted in the greatest loss of life in Italian shipping and the largest ever in the Southern Hemisphere in peacetime, with the ship that was called "the Italian Titanic"[59]
Emilio Materassi's car crash at 1928 Italian Grand Prix 9 September 1928 Monza 28 Emilio Materassi and 27 spectators were killed when Materassi's car crashed into a grandstand; worst accident after the 1955 Le Mans disaster.
1930 Irpinia earthquake 23 July 1930 Aquilonia, Campania 1404
Molare dam disaster [it] 13 August 1935 Molare 111
SS Orazio sinking [it] 21 January 1940 35 miles off Toulon, France.

(**)

 108 (See List of maritime disasters in the 20th century for further details.)
Galleria delle Grazie human stampede [it] 23 October 1942 Genoa 354 People were killed by stampede during an attack by the RAF Bomber Command in WWII as they made their way into Galleria delle Grazie, a railway tunnel in use as an air-raid shelter. Rushing down the 150 steps leading underground into the shelter, people fell on top of one another in a crush, accounting for the extremely heavy toll of the stampede.[60]
Caterina Costa explosion 28 March 1943 Naples 600+
Balvano train disaster 3 March 1944 Balvano 517+ The deadliest railway accident in Italian history.
SS Charles Henderson explosion 9 April 1945 Bari 542
Superga air disaster 4 May 1949 Turin 31
1951 Polesine flood [it] 14 November 1951 Province of Rovigo 101 (over 180,000 homeless) Heavy social and economic consequences
BOAC Flight 781 crash 10 January 1954 Near Elba island 35
South African Airways Flight 201 crash 8 April 1954 Mediterranean Sea between Naples and Stromboli 21
1954 Ribolla disaster 4 May 1954 Ribolla 43
Sabena Flight 503 crash 13 February 1955 Monte Terminillo, Rieti 29
SS Andrea Doria sinking 25 July 1956 Near the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts

(**)

 46
1957 Mille Miglia accident 12 May 1957 Guidizzolo (near Mantua) 13 Driver Alfonso de Portago, his co-driver/navigator, Ed Nelson and nine spectators was killed when Portago and Nelson ploughed into spectators. The Italian government decreed the end of the Mille Miglia race.
British European Airways Flight 142 collision 22 October 1958 Nettuno, near Anzio 31
Wolfgang von Trips's car crash at 1961 Italian Grand Prix 10 September 1961 Monza 15 Wolfgang Von Trips and 14 spectators were killed when Von Trips' car was thrown amidst the audience
1962 Irpinia earthquake 21 August 1962 Irpinia 16
Enrico Mattei air disaster 27 October 1962 Bascapè, near Pavia 3 Enrico Mattei killed together with 2 friends
Vajont disaster 9 October 1963 Vajont 1,917 (and 1,300 definitively missing)
1966 flood of the Arno and 1966 Venice flood 4 November 1966 Florence, Grosseto, Pisa, Pontedera, Venice 101 in Tuscany, 1 in Venice Worst serie of floods in centuries and worst flood in the Florence's history since 1557.
1968 Belice earthquake 14 January 1968 Western Sicily 231+ New towns constructed
Sinking of the SS London Valour 9 April 1970 Geneva 20
SS Heleanna fire [it] 28 August 1971 Off Torre Canne 41 .[61]
1971 RAF Hercules crash 9 November 1971 Off the coast of Livorno by Meloria shoal 52 Worst Italian Army accident since WWII
1976 Cavalese cable car crash 9 March 1976 Cavalese 43
1976 Friuli earthquake 6 May 1976 Gemona del Friuli 990 (and over 3,000 injured) Famous for its fast recover
Mount Serra Air disaster [it] 3 March 1977 Calci 44
Alitalia Flight 4128 crash 23 December 1978 Tyrrhenian Sea, off Palermo 108
Serafino Ferruzzi's personal jet disaster [it] 10 December 1979 Forlì 5 Serafino Ferruzzi died together with 4 other people
1980 Irpinia earthquake 13 November 1980 Castelnuovo di Conza and Campania 2,483 - 4,900 Famous for its slow and corrupted rebuild period
Vignola palace fire [it] 25 April 1982 Todi 35 (+40 injured)
Champoluc cable car crash [it] 13 February 1983 Champoluc 11 A man, Maurizio Maria Verna (a 29 years old turinese) survived, by not using the cable car, and then died hours later in the Cinema Statuto Fire, in Turin.
Cinema Statuto fire 13 February 1983 Turin 64 Largest disaster after World War II in Turin. The accident prompted a wave of reforms in the laws about public buildings, making fireproof materials and firefighting equipment mandatory for every public space.
Nervi highway disaster [it] 18 December 1983 Genoa 35
Val di Stava dam collapse 19 July 1985 Tesero 268
Valtellina disaster 28 July 1987 Valtellina 53
Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 460 crash 15 October 1987 Mount Crozza, Conca di Crezzo, Province of Como 37
Uganda Airlines Flight 775 crash 17 October 1988 Rome-Fiumicino Airport, Rome 33
Crotone rail disaster [it] 16 November 1989 Crotone 12
1990 Carlentini earthquake 13 December 1990 Near Augusta, Sicily 19
Moby Prince disaster 10 April 1991 Livorno 140
Banat Air Flight 166 crash 13 December 1995 Sommacampagna near Verona Airport, Verona 49
1997 Umbria and Marche earthquake 26 September 1996 Annifo and Umbria-Marche territory 11 There were several thousands of foreshocks and aftershocks from May 1997 to April 1998.
Sinking of F174 25-26 December 1996 35 km off-shore of Portopalo di Capo Passero 283 (+27 lost)
1998 Cavalese cable car crash 3 February 1998 Cavalese 20 Caused by a human error of a USAF pilot
Via Vigna Jacobini building collapse [it] 16 December 1998 Rome 27
Linate Airport disaster 8 October 2001 Milan 118 The deadliest accident in Italian aviation history.
Via Ventotene gas explosion [it] 27 November 2001 Rome 8
2002 Pirelli Tower airplane crash 18 April 2002 Milan 3 (and 60 injured) Cause not clear; officially a suicide of the pilot.
2002 Molise earthquakes 31 October 2002 San Giuliano di Puglia 29 Most deaths caused by the collapse of a school in San Giuliano di Puglia.
Crevalcore train crash January 2005 Crevalcore 17 (and 80 injured) Two consecutive human errors
2009 L'Aquila earthquake 6 April 2009 L'Aquila 308 (and over 1500 injured)
2009 Italian Air Force C130 disaster [it] 24 November 2009 Pisa 5
Costa Concordia disaster 13 January 2012 Isola del Giglio 34
2012 Emilia earthquake 20-29 May 2012 Finale Emilia 27
Collision of Jolly Nero and the control tower of Genoea harbour [it] 7 May 2013 Genoa 9 (and 6 injured) The ship Jolly Nero collided with the control tower of the port of Genoa, making it collapse and nearly killing all the people inside it.
2013 Monteforte Irpino bus crash 28 July 2013 near Neaples 40
2013 Lampedusa migrant shipwreck 3 October 2013 Near Lampedusa island 359+
Cargo Gökbel sinking [it] 28 December 2014 Near Marina di Ravenna (Ravenna) shore 6
MS Norman Atlantic fire [it] 28 December 2014 Strait of Otranto 11
2016-2017 Amatrice earthquake 24 August 2016 Accumoli, Amatrice 299 (Link to the italian wiki page: )
January 2017 Central Italy earthquakes and Rigopiano avalanche 18 January 2017 Farindola 34 Rigopiano avalanche caused 29 deaths alone.
2017 Turin stampede 2 June 2017 Turin 3 More than 1,500 injured
Pioltello train derailment 25 January 2018 Pioltello 3 (and 46 injured)
Collapse of the Morandi Bridge 14 August 2018 Genoa 43 (and 16 injured)
Corinaldo stampede 8 December 2018 Corinaldo 6
Stresa–Mottarone cable car crash 23 May 2021 Mottarone 14
2022 Marmolada serac collapse 3 July 2022 Marmolada 11

(**) For the Italian law, all the Italian ships are considered Italian territory.

See also

For Italians massacred outside Italy

Citations
  1. Diodorus Siculus 13.57.6
  2. Diodorus Siculus 13.62.4
  3. Diodorus Siculus 13.90.1
  4. Polybius, The Histories, III.61.
  5. Livy 2006, p. 155.
  6. Livy 2006, p. 229.
  7. Livy 2006, p. 239.
  8. Livy 2006, pp. 329–330.
  9. Livy 2006, p. 362.
  10. Livy 2006, p. 401.
  11. Dio, Cassius (1917). "XLVII". Roman History, Books 46–50 (Loeb Classical Library, Vol. V). [Earnest Cary, Trans.] Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674990913. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  12. Tacitus, Annals VI.19
  13. John Matthews, Western Aristocracies and Imperial Court AD 364–425, Oxford: University Press, 1990, p. 281.
  14. The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 13, (Cambridge University Press, 1998), page 125.
  15. Procopius, History of the Wars VI.XXI
  16. Procopius, History of the Wars VI.XXV
  17. Vasiliev 1968, pp. 76, 77.
  18. Kaldellis 2017, p. 45.
  19. Cicero, Frank (2011). Relative Strangers: Italian Protestants in the Catholic World. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780897337311.
  20. Lovisa, Barbro (1994). Italienische Waldenser und das protestantische Deutschland 1655 bis 1989 (in German). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 30–31. ISBN 9783525565391. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
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  22. Sked, Alan (2011). Radetzky: Imperial Victor and Military Genius. New York.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  23. (in Italian) L’eccidio di «San Sebastiano», La Sicilia, February 8, 2009
  24. (in Italian) La strage di Giardinello, La Sicilia, December 11, 2011
  25. (in Italian) Natale 1893, la strage di Lercara, La Sicilia, December 31, 2010
  26. (in Italian) Continuano i disordini a Milano, Corriere della Sera, May 9, 1898
  27. Borch (2013), p. 2.
  28. Giovanni Bartolone, Le altre stragi: Le stragi alleate e tedesche nella Sicilia del 1943–1944 (in Italian)
  29. Ezio Costanzo, George Lawrence, The Mafia and the Allies: Sicily 1943 and the Return of the Mafia, Enigma, 2007, p.119
  30. Portelli, Alessandro (2003). The Order Has Been Carried Out: History, Memory, and Meaning of a Nazi Massacre in Rome. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
  31. Bosworth (January 30, 2007). Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Fascist Dictatorship, 1915–1945. Penguin Group. p. 499. ISBN 978-0143038566.
  32. Leslie Alan Horvitz, Christopher Catherwood, Encyclopedia of War Crimes and Genocide, 2009, ISBN 978-0816080830
  33. Mogherini, Federica (5 October 2014). "Minister Mogherini's message for the commemoration of the Marzabotto massacres". Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  34. "German and Italian presidents honor Nazi massacre victims". Deutsche Welle. 24 March 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  35. "The responsible". L'Eccidio del Padule di Fucecchio. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  36. Sciascia, Giuseppina, "The Silent Summer of 1944", in L'Osservatore Romano. English Weekly Edition, 2005, February 2nd. Republished as "Carthusian Booklets Series", no. 10. Arlington, VT: Charterhouse of the Transfiguration, 2006.
  37. "Italy convicts Nazis of massacre". BBC News. 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  38. "Zona Libera, 15 marzo 1945" Witness (in Italian) of Sergio Canuto Rosa "Pittore" filed, a few days after the massacre, at the Command of the Free Zone. Preserved in the Museum of Salussola.
  39. Spada, Grazia (2005). Il Moicano e i fatti di Rovetta. Pavia: Copiano. pp. 96–97. ISBN 978-8-8769-8089-3.
  40. (in Italian) Una strage con troppi misteri, La Sicilia, May 1, 2011
  41. (in Italian) Strage Ciaculli: Lumia, "tenere attenzione sempre alta" Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine, ANSA, 30 June 2009
  42. (in Italian) La strage di viale Lazio spiegata dal pentito chiave, LiveSicilia, April 28, 2009
  43. "1969: Deadly bomb blasts in Italy". BBC News. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  44. "Strage di piazza Loggia, ergastolo ai neofascisti Maggi e Tramonte". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  45. Richards, Charles (1 December 1990). "Gladio is still opening wounds" (PHP). Independent: 12. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  46. "Italian court: Missile caused 1980 Mediterranean plane crash; Italy must pay compensation". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 23 January 2013. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018.
  47. "1980: Bologna blast leaves dozens dead", BBC News
  48. Italy: Tunnel of Death, Time Magazine, January 7, 1985
  49. Stille, Excellent Cadavers, p. 204
  50. "Twin Attacks at the Airports of Vienna and Rome (Dec. 27, 1985)". Israeli Security Agency.
  51. (in Italian)La Camorra voleva una strage di Neri – La Repubblica, May 5, 1990
  52. UNA STRAGE COME IN LIBANO – Repubblica.it » Ricerca
  53. Letizia, Marco. "Borsellino, 10 anni fa la strage di via D'Amelio". Il Corriere della Sera (in Italian). RCS. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  54. Tagliabue, John (15 July 1994). "Bombings Laid to Mafia War on Italy and Church". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  55. "Valutazione delle prove – Sentenza del processo di 1º grado per le stragi del 1993" (PDF).
  56. Badolati, Arcangelo (5 February 2021). "Marco, testimone della strage di Buonvicino: "Avevo 3 anni, ricordo gli spari"". Gazzetta del Sud (in Italian). Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  57. Humphrey, John. H. (1986). Roman Circuses: Arenas for Chariot Racing. University of California Press. pp. 80, 102, 126–129. ISBN 978-0-520-04921-5.
  58. Mommsen, Theodor (1892). "Chronica minora saec. IV. V. VI. VII". HathiTrust (in Latin). Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  59. Heckman, Penelope (2011). Over the years. Pittsburgh: Dorrance Publishing. p. 9. ISBN 978-143491203-9.
  60. "La "Galleria delle Grazie"" (PDF) (in Italian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-25. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  61. "La storia della nave greca Heleanna". il nautilus (in Italian). 25 August 2011. Retrieved 2022-06-26.

References
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