(Marcinelle, 8 August 2026)
Seventy years ago, on August 8, 1956, Marcinelle became forever etched in the collective memory of our country and of Europe.
At the Bois du Cazier mine, 262 workers of twelve different nationalities lost their lives, including 136 Italians. Today, we remember each and every one of them. Behind those numbers were names, faces, families and hopes. They were men who had left their homeland to build, through their work, a better future for their children and to contribute to Italy’s reconstruction.
This day also belongs to those who remained behind: the widows, the orphans and the communities that were able to transform immense grief into the strength of remembrance and the courage to move forward. From them, we have learned the truest meaning of dignity: the dignity of those who had left their homeland to work, and that of those who, for seventy years, have preserved and passed on their memory.
For this reason, since 2001, on the initiative of the Berlusconi Government, 8 August has been observed as the National Day of Commemoration of the Sacrifice of Italian Workers around the World.
Marcinelle is an Italian tragedy, but also a profoundly European one. Out of that suffering also emerged the awareness that Europe should be not merely an economic area, but a community founded on rights, solidarity and the protection of the individual.
Together with the entire Government, I have worked in Brussels to establish 8 August as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Accidents at Work. This is an initiative to which I have been deeply committed and which will soon become a reality. In this same European spirit, I intend to make another visit to Marcinelle in the coming months together with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
Remembrance must translate into responsibility and action. Our Constitution establishes that the Republic is founded on labour, recognizes every citizen’s right to work, and calls upon each person to contribute to the progress of society. Every life lost at work strikes at one of the very foundations of our democracy.
No economic achievement can ever be worth a human life. The safety of workers is the first measure of a country’s level of civilization. Prevention, training, clear rules, rigorous inspections and shared responsibility among institutions, businesses and workers are essential.
Seventy years later, Italy stands united around Marcinelle. It does so to pay tribute to the victims, to express its closeness to their families, and to renew its gratitude to the millions of our fellow citizens who, through their work, skills and sacrifice, continue every day to bring honour and prestige to our country around the world.
Preserving the memory of Marcinelle means turning it into responsibility. It means defending the dignity of work everywhere, strengthening a culture of safety, and working to ensure that no one should ever again lose their life while building their own future and that of their family. This is the commitment we make before the victims of Marcinelle and to all Italians around the world: no more deaths at work.
Honour to the victims of Marcinelle. Long live Italy, long live Italians abroad, long live Europe!
