It has been 45 years since the DC9 Itavia tragedy, which crashed in the skies over Ustica on 27 June 1980. An air disaster that profoundly marked the history of the Italian Republic and continues to represent one of the country's most painful and controversial events. There were 81 people on board the plane, which left from Bologna and headed for Palermo: no one survived, and some bodies were never found. On the anniversary, President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella wished to remember the victims and the suffering of their families, stressing how the pain of that night cannot be erased. “An indelible mourning,” he said, “that affects not only those who lost their loved ones, but the entire community”. Mattarella then reiterated the State's commitment to pursuing the truth, also inviting foreign countries to cooperate so that full light could be shed on what happened. “The need for justice,” he said, “is an integral part of our democracy, and it does not diminish with the passage of time”.