The case

Rome, a cottage explodes: two anarchists dead. Between hypotheses action on nearby target

The explosion of the cottage in the Acquedotti park, with the death of two anarchists linked to the Cospito group inside it, has become a (also) political case

by Rome Editorial Staff

20 March 2026Aggiornato il 21 marzo 2026 alle ore 18:00

Due vittime per il crollo di parte del solaio di un casale abbandonato ex stazione ferroviaria il cosiddetto Casale del Sellaretto nel parco degli Acquedotti dovuto a esplosione di un ordigno artigianale, a Roma, Italia - cronaca - 20 marzo 2026 (Foto Francesco Benvenuti/LaPresse) LAPRESSE

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

A place near the Acquedotti park could have been the target of the device that the two anarchists who died yesterday in the explosion inside the abandoned cottage were assembling. This would be one of the hypotheses that emerged during the meeting of the Anti-terrorism Strategic Analysis Committee held today at the Viminale. A track taken into consideration in light of the nature of the device, which would have been made with fertilizer and a trigger and, therefore, considered not very 'stable' for transport. Among the possible targets 'of anarchic interest' in the south-east quadrant of the Capital are a railway junction as well as the Tuscolano pole of the Police and a Carabinieri barracks. But at the moment other leads are not excluded.

In the meantime, some answers may come from the nature of the device under construction as to the type of action that the anarchists Alessandro Mercogliano and Sara Ardizzone, who died in the collapse of the farmhouse in the Acquedotti park, intended to carry out. The checks will focus, in particular, on the type of explosive used to assemble the bomb and thus understand its range. In particular, it will be established whether it is a substance found on the market or explosives used in quarries. The presence of nails, which were found during the surveys, would suggest a sort of 'leap of faith' with respect to a demonstrative action.

The searches

During the night, five searches were carried out by the Digos of Rome against flats in the anarchic galaxy. The agents seized various material of the anarchist area, now being examined by the investigators, but which would not be pertinent to the episode. Two people from the same context were interviewed, who, at the moment, are not connected to the action that the two intended to carry out. Those investigating are working on the logistics, in particular on why they had chosen that house, and on the possible supply chain that provided the explosives

L’esplosione

Investigators believe it was anarchists who caused the deflagration, probably while assembling a homemade explosive device. The alarm was triggered on Friday morning when a watchman contacted 112 after seeing a dead body under the rubble.

The subsidence, however, may have occurred several hours earlier. On Thursday evening, in fact, a roar had been heard in the area. The fire brigade launched a search and found the second body shortly afterwards. The police arrived on the scene with the forensic team for investigation. Investigators set to work to clarify the dynamics and name the victims.

The victims

The two victims are, known names of the 'Cospito group'. For those investigating, they were in the cottage to make a bomb and were planning an action to be carried out probably in the coming weeks. Mercogliano, in particular, had a mutilated arm, supporting the hypothesis that he was handling a bomb.

Alessandro Marcogliano, aged 53, was on trial for terrorist actions in Turin. He was one of the five convicted in 2019 of the maxi terrorism trial of anarchists accused of starting the Fai-Fri, the groups that from 2003 to 2016 were allegedly responsible for a number of 'direct actions' - from bombs to explosive packages - against politicians, journalists, and law enforcement officers. The Assize Court judges in April of that year sentenced him to five years while Alfredo Cospito was given 20 years.

Sara Ardizzone, on the other hand, had been acquitted last year in Perugia as part of the Sibilla investigation. In the courtroom, during the preliminary hearing, she had read a long text: 'I am an anarchist. As an anarchist, I am an enemy of this State as of any other State', she had solemnly chanted in front of the judge.

The possible attack

It is not excluded that in the crosshairs could end up - once again - the railway network, already hit in February by several sabotage actions of anarchic matrix to the High Speed line on the occasion of the Olympic Games in Milan Cortina. Among the leads under investigation is the possibility that the explosives could have been used in a blitz against the Leonardo Group - a company operating in the defence sector - as well as for a re-launch of the campaign in favour of the anarchist Cospito, in view of the expiry in May of the decree applying 4 years to his detention in 41bis. The Rome Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation file coordinated by the anti-terrorism pool.

Tajani: 'Climate of tension from anarchists and the extreme left'

'There is a climate of tension that anarchists and extreme left-wing elements want to continue to create in our country'. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Tg4 about the explosion of a device in the Parco degli Acquedotti in Rome. "We will see how the investigations will continue, but the fact that two anarchists were handling a bomb on the eve of the referendum vote leaves us very perplexed. It worries us a lot because it confirms everything that had been said on the occasion of the more violent demonstrations that had taken place in many Italian cities," he added, urging people to keep "their guard up".