The President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, released the following statement:  

"The painful memory of the terrorist attacks on the United States on the 11^th of September 2001 remains etched onto everyone’s conscience as an appalling page in the recent history of humanity.

That day deeply touched all feelings of humanity.

The Italian Republic renews its feelings of deep grief for the victims of those tragic events which marked a watershed in the course of contemporary history and led to subsequent new tragedies.

Onerous was also the tribute of deaths and suffering paid also by the Italian American community in New York and in the other places involved in the terrorists’ insane criminal design.

On this anniversary, our heartfelt thought goes first to the families and to all those loved by those who were unjustly killed in or as a result of the terrorist attacks or, as well as to the rescuers who relentlessly made their best efforts to save as many lives as possible, working in forbidding conditions.

The unanimous condemnation of what happened on the 11^th of September 2001 prompted a strong cohesion of the international community against acts of terrorism, in whatever form perpetrated.

In the aftermath of this vile and unacceptable aggression, the call to the value of defending individual human rights was firmly, immediately and concertedly upheld in Italy and in its European partners.

The value of peaceful coexistence among peoples must inspire our modern-day behaviours, without surrendering to the logic of war which instead appears to prevail in too many theaters of war.

Faced with the resurgence of the logic of oppression and new conflicts, Italy remains firm in its commitment against terrorism, in defence of the lives of our fellow citizens and of the citizens of any other nation, as well as of the inalienable rights of the people. Only a bold, just and far-sighted cooperation can assure peace, security and prosperity to future generations".