The device, which was planted in a suitcase, exploded at 10.25 local time on August 2nd 1980 in an air-conditioned waiting room, which was crammed with people trying to escape the heat.
A further 200 people were injured in the attack, which was attributed to the neo-fascist terrorist organization, Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari, and destroyed most of the station’s building.
The victims were mainly station workers, passengers and tourists. The youngest was a three-year-old girl. Many of the victims were crushed to death after the roof of the waiting room collapsed. The explosion also hit a train that was waiting on the first platform.
Protests against terrorism were held across Italy in the days that followed.
The bombing was considered as the culmination of a decade of terrorist violence by right and left extremist groups.
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