Olgiate Olona, June 26, 1959 - Commemorative events (2026)

Commemorative events of June 26, 1959

• Rewarded in 2011 with medal of the President of the Italian Republic •

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Commemorative events 2026

In 2026, the educational project in memory of the plane crash has been addressed to 42 students in the eighth grade of Dante Alighieri school. of Olgiate Olona.

Commemoration of 67^th anniversary of the plane crash

The ceremony of June 26, 2026, in the Town Hall, was attended by the relatives of the seventy immortal lives coming from the United States of America and from Italy and by the mayor of Livraga. The five students of 3A and 3C of Dante Alighieri secondary school authors of the most deserving works of the sixteenth edition of the educational project in memory of June 26, 1959, were awarded with a certificate of merit, the author of the work classified first was also rewarded with a book voucher donated by Nuova cimatura Vanzini of Olgiate Olona. Sara Grigolato’s work, Non è solo una parola (trans. It’s Not Just a Word), received the 2026 Special Prize donated by Alberto Colombo and the Certificate of Merit for the best work from 2010 to 2026, awarded full marks by the jury. The promoting staff of the commemorative events of June 26, 1959, awarded a certificate of appreciation to Aniello Della Rocca (school director) and Simonetta Tremolada (coordinating teacher at Dante Alighieri school). Alberto Colombo read Pope Leo XIV’s message praising the commemorative events of June 26, 1959, and who imparted a blessing to the families of the seventy immortal lives, the promoting staff, and the people attending the ceremony of the 67th anniversary of the plane crash.

Sixteenth edition of the educational project: the works awarded

Commemoration of June 26, 2026
Commemorative speech of Olgiate Olona deputy mayor

On behalf of the Municipal Administration, I thank all of you here today. A special thanks to the families of the seventy immortal lives who also this year wanted to reach Olgiate Olona, even coming from very far away: Your presence moves us and reminds us how the bond with the beloved seventy lives is still alive and deep. I thank the students and teachers who participated in the educational project of June 26, 1959: through their works they demonstrate that memory does not only belong to the past, it continues to live in the new generations. I thank Alberto Colombo who with passion, competence and tireless dedication passes on an important page of the history of Olgiate Olona: the gratitude of the Municipal Administration and Olgiate Olona community goes to him.

We meet here at the same time that on June 26, 1959, a tragedy marked the history of Olgiate Olona forever. When we think about that day, we risk stopping at the numbers: seventy deaths, a plane crash, a date imprinted in the memory of our country. But behind those numbers there are people. Ordinary people. People who were traveling for work, to visit family, to start a vacation, or simply to return home. People who had plans for the next day, projects for the future, loved ones to hug again. After all, people like us.

And that’s precisely what makes their memory so important. They weren’t famous people, they weren’t heroes celebrated by history. They were women, men, and children living their daily lives, with their dreams, their hopes, and their loved ones. A normality that belongs to each of us. This is precisely what makes their memory so close. Because, looking at their lives, we can recognize something of our own lives: we can recognize our loved ones, our plans, the people we love and whom we take for granted every day. This is why those seventy immortal lives continue to speak to us today: because they remind us how precious, unique, and unrepeatable each life is.

As a community of Olgiate Olona, we have chosen to preserve this memory and pass it on to new generations through the educational project, now in its sixteenth edition, which involves the school and allows children to learn about this history and make it part of their civic conscience.

This ceremony is not only to remember what happened on June 26, 1959. It is to remind us who we are today: a community that does not forget, that knows how to preserve its history and that chooses to pass it on to the young generation, so that the past can teach the present for the future.

Our most respectful and sincere thoughts go to the seventy immortal lives we commemorate today. We don’t remember them simply because they were tragically lost. We remember them for how they lived. For the love they built, for the dreams they nurtured, for the plans they had. We remember them because they were ordinary people, just like us. And that’s why they continue to be special in the memory of our community.

Leonardo Richiusa
Olgiate Olona deputy mayor

Messagge and blessing of Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV praised the commemorative events of Olgiate Olona plane crash of June 26, 1959, and blessed the families of the seventy immortal lives, the promoting staff and all those who attended the ceremony marking the 67th anniversary of the air disaster.

The message dated June 5, 2026, signed by Monsignor Anthony Ekpo and sent to Alberto Colombo by the Secretariat of State of the Vatican City reads: Dear Mr. Alberto Colombo, with careful thought you shared with the Holy Father the commemorative events marking the 67th anniversary of the plane crash that occurred on June 26, 1959, requesting the gift of his word. Pope Leo XIV, who appreciated these praiseworthy initiatives, wishes to unite himself spiritually with the families grieving the loss of their loved ones, ensuring a special remembrance at the Altar and urging them to consider that «in the Crucifix, in that tormented man, the greatest love is manifested. It is there that we can recognize a God who is not distant, but penetrates our pain to the very depths [...] If manifested with the trust and freedom of the children of God, the anguished voice of our humanity, united with the voice of Christ, can become a source of hope for us and for those around us» (General Audience, September 10, 2025). Invoking the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, His Holiness imparts the desired Apostolic Blessing, which he willingly extends to those who have collaborated in the realization of this significant event and to all who will attend. I greet you cordially with the utmost respect.

Documents related to the commemorative events of 2026

June 26, 2026 - Press releases of Municipality of Olgiate Olona

67^th anniversary of plane crash of June 26, 1959: commemorative speech of Olgiate Olona deputy mayor

Pope Leo XIV praises the commemorative events of June 26, 1959, and blesses the 67th anniversary of the plane crash of Olgiate Olona

Commemoration of June 26, 2026 - 67^th anniversary

Messagge and blessing of Pope Leo XIV

International prayer in suffrage

Selection of articles related to the commemorative events of 2026

VareseNoi.it June 27, 2026
Papa Leone benedice la commemorazione di Olgiate: «Un balsamo le sue parole»

IlBustese.it June 27, 2026
Papa Leone benedice la commemorazione di Olgiate: «Un balsamo le sue parole»

La prealpina June 24, 2026
Commemorazione del disastro

PrimaSaronno.it June 20, 2026
La comunità di Olgiate ricorda le 70 vittime del disastro aereo