13/05/81: Assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II

On Wednesday 13 May 1981 an attempt to assassinate Pope John Paul II was made in St Peter's Square in Vatican City.

The Pope was shot and wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca while he was entering the square at around 5.17 pm. The Pope was struck four times, and suffered severe blood loss. Ağca was apprehended immediately, and later sentenced to life in prison by an Italian court.

The Pope later forgave Ağca for the assassination attempt. He was pardoned by Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi at the Pope's request and was deported to Turkey in June 2000.

9/04/81: terrorist suspect arrested in Italy

On Thursday 9 April 1981 twenty-one year old Cristiano Fioravanti was arrested in Rome suspected of subversive activities and formation of an armed gang. The Italian had been hunted down by police suspected of terrorism as part of the extreme right-wing Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari (NAR)  group, together with his brother Valerio and Francesca Mambro, among others.

The group had been connected with the murder of left-wing activist Walter Rossi in 1977 and the bomb which exploded in the waiting room of Bologna railway station on 8 August 1980.

Fioravanti was later released without charge. 

source and pic.: messaggero.it

18/3/81: Mt. Etna volcano erupting

One of Etna's most dramatic and destructive eruptions occurred between 17 and 23 March 1981 on the north-northwestern flank of the volcano in Sicily. The town of Randazzo narrowly escaped destruction.

Randazzo, Sicily on 18 March 1981

On Wednesday 18 March, the lava flow passed between Randazzo and Montelaguardia and entered into the bed of the Alcantara river. On its course, it interrupted several major roads, the Circumetnea railway and the Italian State railway (FS) as well as power lines, causing a temporary blackout in Randazzo. The flow eventually stopped on 20 March.

The remains of a stately country house nr. Randazzo, some time after the eruption 

sources and pics.: INGV, volcanodiscovery.com

8/3/81: International Women's Day '81

Poster designed by New Mexico born artist Juan R. Fuentes for International Women's Day in 1981 (source: juanrfuentes.com)

Photographs showing an International Women's Day protest march in Lecce, Southern Italy, also in 1981. (source: generazioni.net La casa delle donne)