On March 20, two Italian Anarchists, Sandro Mercogliano and Sara Ardizzone, died in an explosion on the outskirts of Rome, as covered here by Freedom. The below is a statement signed by various groups hosted on Anarchist Cultural Circle “Gogliardo Fiaschi”’s website, originally hosted here.
There is an enormous difference between the violence of the oppressed and that of the oppressors: the former follows an ethic, the latter doesn’t. – Sara Ardizzone
Our ability to speak and communicate does not allow us to venture down the unbeaten paths of personal accountability for the risks we take. Any discussion along these lines remains inevitably tentative and inadequate. To truly seek freedom — in its authentic and complete form, not in the counterfeit versions bestowed and imposed by the state — means entering into the realm of risk inherent in the quest itself. In this realm, our choices — often wild and solitary — carve out a path of no return. Freedom is a quality that is experienced by putting oneself at risk.
We say this without resorting to any rhetorical indulgence: the two anarchists found dead after the collapse of a farmhouse in Rome, Sara Ardizzone and Alessandro Mercogliano, are our close comrades, we are proud to have them as our comrades. The paid hacks, from whose trashy paper we learned of the incident, write about the detonation of an explosive artefact. The attempts to distance oneself, always aimed at ensuring a shameful sense of security, do not belong to us. We are used to never believe what is uttered by the propaganda machine, but if there is a glimmer of truth about the “leaked” information we cannot fail to dwell on the fundamental fact: Sara and Sandro died in action, died in the battle. Social war is not a stunt, a life style or a subculture. It is, first and foremost, a war. Sara and Sandro are a shining example of the inseparable bond between thought and deed which inspires the anarchism, revolutionaries until the very last moment of their lives, and in death.
Sara and Sandro are and will always be a piece of our heart, a heart which simply cannot bring itself to write an obituary.
The rants of today’s lords of the inquisition and repression go hand in hand with those of the warlords and exploiters. The perpetrators of massacres, the mass murderers, the purveyors of death cry out in outrage the scandal of the bombs of the anarchists.
With Sara and Sandro we have shared the unextinguishable passion for the anarchist thought and action. Some of us lived alongside them, sharing the feverish intensity of moments that no clock could ever measure. With them, when we have been under investigation by the repressive machine of the State, we have maintained our dignity consolidated in the tenacity of our choices. We are certain of this: those endless days of ours will never fade into a distant memory. Moments that were not based on ideological rhetoric, but on the conviction of our paths, on feelings, on mutual trust, and on the joy of life. All of us who knew them deeply know that there will never be words adequate to describe their modesty, their tenderness, and their dignity.
This is why the revolutionary will of Sara and Sandro has the strength to go beyond time, overcoming sorrow and pain. Their passion for life will be stronger than death. Their integrity will always serve as an admonishment to every oppressor.
March 21, 2026
Anarchist Cultural Circle “G. Fiaschi” (Carrara)
Anarchist Circle “The Fault” (Foligno)
Danilo Cremonese and Valentina Speziale
Anarchist Circle “G. Bertoli” (Assemini)
Anarchist Nucleus “It is. Henry” (Cagliari)
Anarchist Library Sabot (Rome)
Natasha Savio
Louis of Faenza
