14/07/2026
Italyâs Senate today granted the final approval. From now on every year on October 11 the victims of the Arandora Star will be honoured at local and national level on an official âDay of Commemorationâ
The bill, introduced by MP Enzo Amich, was first presented at the end of May 2024 and was co-signed by a further 20 Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum.
On 7 May 2025, the Chamber of Deputiesâ Foreign Affairs Committee, with Deborah Bergamini MP as rapporteur, approved it for consideration by the full Chamber.
On 2 February 2026, the Chamber held the general debate on the bill, and on 12 February it was passed unanimously.
Speaking on that occasion, Enzo Amich said:
âEstablishing a National Day is not simply about adding another date to the calendar. It means educating people in remembrance, courage and peace, while strengthening a message of reconciliation and friendship between peoples.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate then took up the Amich Bill. There it found a committed supporter in Senator Roberto Menia, who acted as rapporteur and secured the Committeeâs unanimous approval. The bill establishing the National Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Arandora Star came before the Senate today, 14 July 2026.
Now, 86 years after the tragedy, the National Day commemorating the innocent victims of the Arandora Star has been approved by the Senate and is officially a law of the Italian Republic.
The Arandora Star sinking, with more than 440 deaths, is considered the greatest tragedy in the history of Italian emigration.
The worldâs largest monument to the victims is to be found in Glasgow before St Andrewâs Cathedral. And the day chosen for the national commemoration is the day of the passing of Rando Bertoia who lived all his life in Glasgow and was the last survivor of the Arandora Star sinking.
Eighty-six years have passed since that tragic 2 July 1940, when the British passenger liner Arandora Star was sunk by a German submarine. On board were 712 of the thousands of Italian civilians who had been interned in the United Kingdom following Mussoliniâs declaration of war.
They were being transported to Canada, where they were to be held at an internment camp in St Johnâs, Newfoundland. They never reached their destination
They were innocent victims of war, as President Sergio Mattarella described them in his commemorative message of 2 July 2020.
They did not deserve to be forgotten, especially in light of the many acts of heroism displayed aboard the ship, which sank in just 35 minutes. Their testimony, which continues to call for peace in our troubled world, deserves to be passed on to future generations.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to every Member of Parliament and every Senator whose support made this exceptional achievement possible.
We think especially of the happiness that the oldest among us will feel when, on 11 Octoberâthe date chosen in honour Rando Bertoia, the last survivor, who died in 2013âthey hear the names of their fathers spoken aloud in a remembrance shared by the whole nation.
The sons and daughters of the victims are now in their nineties, and some have even reached the the age of 109.
Now, after 86 years, the memory of the victims will forever be safeguarded and handed downânot only by their families, but by the whole of Italy.đŽđš
