Primavalle Fire
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The Primavalle Fire (Rogo di Primavalle in Italian) was an arson occurred in Rome on April 16, 1973, which caused the death of two youngsters, children of neo-fascist MSI member Mario Mattei.
The fire was caused by activists of the far left autonomist group Potere Operaio, who, during the night, threw an inflammable substance on the door of the house of Mattei, in the quarter of Primavalle. Mattei was the local leader of Movimento Sociale Italiano, the Italian post-Fascist party. When the fire broke out, Mattei and part of his family managed to escape, but his son, Virgilio, aged 22, and Stefano, aged 8, were killed.
Activists of Potere Operaio Achille Lollo, Marino Clavo, Manlio Grillo were convicted and condemned to 18 years in a second grade sentence. However, while freed in wait of the sentence, Lollo escaped to Brazil, where his crime was declared prescribed. Grillo fled to Nicaragua, helped by Oreste Scalzone, who had also assisted Lollo. As of 2007, Marino Clavo is in hiding.
In two interviews released in 2005, both Lollo and Grillo admitted for the first time their moral responsibility in the act. Grillo also declared that Potere Operaio had connections with the Red Brigades. Franco Piperno, national secretary of Potere Operaio in 1973, also confirmed that the leaders of the organization were informed of the fire facts some days after it,and kept all members responsibilities hidden.
