2019: President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella expressed his closeness to the relatives of the seventy immortal lives on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the plane crash of Olgiate Olona

 

June 26, 2019 - The message sent to Alberto Colombo by Quirinale Palace in Rome on March 29, 2019, signed by the Head of the Ceremonial Service of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic Cinzia Raimondi, recites: Dear Mr. Colombo, I refer to Your kind letter in which you invited the President of the Republic to attend the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the plane crash of Olgiate Olona to be held in that city on next June 26, in the Ancient Collegiate Prepositural church of St. Stephen and Lawrence. In this regard, I thank You for the attention to President Mattarella, and I have to inform You that the presidential commitments set for that date do not allow us to reply positively to Your request. By expressing the closeness of the Head of the State to the relatives of the victims of the tragedy, President Mattarella entrusts to this letter the meaning of his ideal participation in the event together with a cordial greeting, to which I gladly join my personal one.

 

Quirinale Palace in Rome - Message sent to Alberto Colombo on March 29, 2019

2013: The President of the Italian Republic appreciates the
website dedicated to the plane crash of June 26, 1959

 

April 12, 2013 - President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano (1925-2023) appreciates once again the commemorative events of the plane crash of June 26, 1959 in place in Olgiate Olona, especially the website devoted to the crash launched on March 23. The President was informed about the website by letter sent by Alberto Colombo who renewed the “thank you” to the Head of State for his “closeness at a distance” so far granted.
Following is the translation of the message sent from Quirinale Palace in Rome on April 12, 2013, signed by Giulio Cazzella, adviser to the President of the Republic for Home affairs and Relations with the Autonomies: «Dear Dr., I refer to Your letter dated April 4, 2013 in which You informed the Head of State about the further initiatives undertaken, including the institution of the website dedicated to the plane crash of Olgiate Olona. I renew the appreciation already expressed in the past for the work of in-depth research and historical testimony of such tragic event, and I am pleased to send on behalf of President Napolitano the most cordial greetings to which I join with great esteem. Giulio Cazzella».

Olgiate Olona mayor Giorgio Volpi says: «The message of appreciation of the website devoted to the plane crash of June 26, 1959 received by the President of the Italian Republic honours the town of Olgiate Olona and those who - supported by the Municipal Administration - are keeping the memory of this page of History alive and who are in contact with the people touched by that event. The President who in 2009 expressed his appreciation for the book about the plane crash and in 2011 rewarded the commemorative events with his medal, is prooving the presence of the State whose institutions are still close to the territory. By defining what was promoted in the recent years in Olgiate Olona as “work of in-depth research and historical testimony”, President Napolitano symbolically summarized the spirit that animates the memory of June 26, 1959 now supported by the website: an exercise of mind and heart guided by love for life, by the creative breath that is not broken by death, and that makes the seventy lives immortal, those lives whose mortal bodies fell on the ground of our country on a summer afternoon».

 

Quirinale Palace in Rome - Message sent to Alberto Colombo on April 12, 2013

2011: The President of the Italian Republic rewards with his medal
the commemorative events of June 26, 1959

 

May 10, 2011 - President of Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano (1925-2023) conferred his medal as prize of representation for the ceremony of June 26, 2011 in Olgiate Olona commemorating the 52nd anniversary of the plane crash of 1959: the Head of State participates with this prize to the event, and appreciates what promoted by the Municipality of Olgiate Olona so far.

This is the translation of the message that the Service of relationships with the civil society of the Presidency of the Republic General Secretariat sent on May 6, 2011 to Olgiate Olona mayor Giorgio Volpi and that was received on May 9, 2011 at the town hall of Olgiate Olona: «Esteemed mayor, I am pleased to send you the enclosed medal that the President of the Republic wanted to devote as his prize of representation to the celebration of the 52nd anniversary of the air disaster of Olgiate. I take this opportunity to send You the most cordial greetings, wishing You the success of this initiative. The Chief Counsel of the Service Dr. Giovanna Ferri».

Olgiate Olona mayor Giorgio Volpi commented: «The medal of President is the prestigious award that honors seventy immortal lives, their families, the community of Olgiate Olona and those who in various capacities are committed to the memory of the June 26, 1959. This award basically points out the general appreciation aroused by solemn and intentionally sober commemorative events that the Municipal Administration of Olgiate Olona promoted so far: events that are a journey of memory and solidarity which has recovered the physical memory of the event above all, which gathered in solidarity the people of Olgiate Olona and the families of the victims, other institutions, those who lived through the disaster, other people, many of them young, interested or curious about the disaster. Seventy immortal lives have been recomposed in the memory of their loved ones and the country and, indeed, this page of history is valorised starting from the school age, because it becomes for eighth-grade students an opportunity to reflect on the meaning and value of life. We did all these efforts because we are convinced that the largest immorality for a society is not the impairment of values, the degeneration of behaviours or more, but the forgetfulness intended as a loss of contact with the core values, those of our fathers. The President of the Republic, symbol of the unity of Italy, has joined this commitment giving his medal».

President Giorgio Napolitano was informed about the commemorating events of the air disaster of 1959 by a detailed report that the mayor Giorgio Volpi delivered to the prefect of Varese Simonetta Vaccari on March 4, 2011: a letter explaining the meaning and the peculiarities of the commemoration of June 26, 2011, event that will be attended by Comitato 8 ottobre per non dimenticare committee which gathers together the relatives of one hundred eighteen victims of Milan-Linate air disaster (2001). This report came to the Quirinale Palace in Rome and the Head of State expressed his consent by giving his medal and acknowledging the merits and value of events promoted in Olgiate Olona.

2009: The President of the Italian Republic appreciates
the book Il disastro aereo del 26 giugno 1959 a Olgiate Olona

 

July 10, 2009 - President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano (1925-2023) appreciates the book Il disastro aereo del 26 giugno 1959 a Olgiate Olona in a message sent by Quirinale Palace to the author Alberto Colombo.

This is the translation of the message sent by Quirinale Palace in Rome on July 10, 2009 signed by Alberto Ruffo, the adviser to the President of the Republic for Home Affairs: «Dear Sir, I refer to Your letter of last March 19 with whom You kindly sent the book ‘Il disastro aereo del 26 giugno 1959 a Olgiate Olona’ to the President. I thank You and I wish to express, also on behalf of the Head of State, appreciation for the work of deepening and historical reconstruction of the tragic events of 1959. With these feelings, President Napolitano sends You best regards to which I unite my personal ones. Alberto Ruffo».

 

Quirinale Palace in Rome - Message sent to Alberto Colombo on July 10, 2009