On 8 August is commemorated the ‘Day of the Sacrifice of Italian Labour in the World’ established with a Prime Ministerial Directive on 1 December 2001 to highlight and recognise the work and sacrifice of the many fellow Italians who emigrated overseas.
This commemoration falls on the anniversary of the 1956 Marcinelle mining tragedy in Belgium, where 262 miners, including 136 Italians, lost their lives in the Bois du Cazier mine.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani will attend the commemoration ceremony at Marcinelle this year.
This is the first time an Italian Deputy Prime Minister has taken part in the ceremony, which is held every year on the outskirts of Charleroi and to which only a few times has one of our Foreign Ministers spoken. Tajani’s presence at the celebrations is intended to underline the importance the government attributes to historical and modern-day migration.
Read here the message that the Vice President addressed to fellow Italians abroad on this occasion.
