Italy's Italicus train bombing in 1974 kills 12 and injures dozens

In the early hours of 4 August 1974, a bomb detonated aboard the Italicus Express as it passed through the San Benedetto Val di Sambro tunnel in the Apennines. The explosion destroyed the fifth carriage, killing 12 passengers and wounding 48, many with severe burns.

The attack was claimed by the neofascist group Ordine Nero, which sought to demonstrate its capacity for terror during Italy’s “strategy of tension.” Investigators believed the intended target was Foreign Minister Aldo Moro, who was scheduled to travel on the train but was not aboard at the time. Among the victims was railway worker Silver Sirotti, who repeatedly entered the burning carriage to rescue fellow passengers and died in the effort, later receiving Italy’s Gold Medal for Civil Valor.

The Italicus bombing followed earlier acts such as the 1969 Piazza Fontana massacre and preceded later incidents like the 1980 Bologna station bombing, marking a particularly violent phase of Italy’s years of lead.