The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Antonio Tajani, has presented a laurel wreath in honour of the victims of the terrible tragedy at Mattmark, in the Swiss canton of Valais. The wreath was laid today by the Italian Ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, during a ceremony held at the site of the disaster in which, on 30 August 1965, 88 workers, including 56 Italians, engaged in the construction of a hydroelectric plant were swept away by an avalanche that had broken loose from a glacier.
In a message that was read out by Ambassador Cornado, Minister Tajani expressed his heartfelt sympathy for the survivors and the families of the victims, and paid tribute to our compatriots who died at work, who were protagonists, despite themselves, of one of the most painful pages in the history of our emigration
The Minister - in the message released by the Embassy - also wished to recall the millions of Italian citizens who emigrated to Switzerland in the last century to give their families a better future. With great sacrifices and admirable tenacity," he stressed, "they have made the Italian community one of the most hard-working, integrated and affirmed in the country, a community that, with its work, has made a decisive contribution to the growth of Switzerland and with its remittances to that of Italy. Mr Tajani also renewed his recognition and that of the Government for the great commitment and dedication of Italians abroad, who 'contribute with conviction to the welfare of the communities in which they reside and to that of Italy, keeping its name high in the world'.
The wreath in memory of the victims was laid by the Ambassador in front of the memorial stone at the end of a religious service.
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