|
|
|
|
Skip navigation and go to contents
The massacre monument was realised in 1984, 80 years after the event that took place at Buggerru, 4 September 1904, the day in which the miners Felice Lettera, Salvatore Montisci and Giustino Pittau perished, and a fourth, Giovanni Pilloni, who died a month later due to injuries incurred. The reason behind the strike was the change in working hours imposed by the director Georgiades who reduced break times.
The strike was announced immediately and lead by Alcibiade Bakelli, secretary of the Buggerru miner’s league also having the complete support of miners from that of Cavallera. The arrival of a platoon, requested by the director and sent by the prefecture to control and maintain public order, aggravated the miner’s spirit, they wished to claim their rights in a peaceful demonstration; a series of fatalities and accidents caused the sad notorious Buggerru Massacre.
Author's words
“From the far end of the square a stone flew over the crowd and smashed into the windows of the carpenter’s workshop. It was the beginning of a crescendo. The rocks by then, were thickly falling, during the panic, in an instant that would be difficult to break down into chronological order due to the speed of events, someone, who has always remained anonymous, gave a direct and energetic order that the soldiers automatically followed. As if they were one, they came to a halt, pointed their butts towards the ground, and fixed the bayonet: then with a rapid and secure movement they slid back the loading cartridge and charged their weapons. Not all of them fired, but many did and were satisfied with their results. That cartridge would have saved them. Later, during the investigation, it turned out that the guns went off by themselves and that the authorities ignored the fact the soldiers’ cartridge boxes were full.” (G. Dessì - Paese d’Ombre)
