The Via D'Amelio massacre, 33 years later, is commemorated today, but the investigation remains open.

"The spirit of these meetings, but above all the coincidence with the days dedicated to the memory of the sacrifice of Paolo Borsellino and his escort, had given me hope for a brief pause in the polemics surrounding the Italian justice system and judiciary. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and I am sorry." This was stated by the national anti-mafia prosecutor, Giovanni Melillo, at the closing of the event "The Challenges of Transnational Organized Crime - European and Latin American Scenarios for International Judicial Cooperation " at the Palermo Courthouse. "I believe that the search for a new balance around the principle of judicial independence is legitimate, but I also believe," he added, "that it cannot be achieved unless suspicion and mistrust are replaced with attention and respect; invective and polemical confrontation with dialogue and the sharing of a common sense of responsibility; otherwise, the institutional fabric will gradually wear away."

"Justice and legality were the faith of Judge Paolo Borsellino. Borsellino can be described as a man of the Beatitudes and a martyr for justice. Therefore, I think and believe that Judge Borsellino possesses all the necessary conditions, if the Church so desires, to initiate the process for a possible beatification and canonization. As was the case for Judge Rosario Livatino." The proposal was made by Don Massimiliano Purpura, the chaplain of the Palermo police headquarters, at the Mass at the Lungaro barracks.

"I was deeply struck by the treatment of Palermo at this conference. Magistrates who came from far away today, not only to honor the memory of Falcone and Borsellino, but also to demonstrate how this city is an international benchmark in the fight against the Mafia. It's sad to see this happening while the Italian government, led by Meloni, is launching an unprecedented attack on the Palermo prosecutor's office. The same prosecutor's office that was exalted to the point of exploitation during the days of Messina Denaro's arrest is now, after investigations that touch upon national and regional power, denigrated and delegitimized. This is all very worrying, not for the Palermo magistrates, who have no need of defense, but for the rule of law and the Constitution." Thus, on the sidelines of the transnational conference on drug trafficking underway at the Palermo Courthouse, MP and Democratic Party leader Giuseppe Provenzano.

"Manfredi Borsellino is right to demand the truth about the Via D'Amelio massacre; he has a right to do so. I hope to be able to contribute by writing a historical truth. The judge's words about the 'nest of vipers' (referring to the courtroom environment, ed.) are a reality." This was stated by Chiara Colosimo, president of the Anti-Mafia Commission, on the sidelines of the conference "The Challenge of Transnational Organized Crime," organized by the DNA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Palermo on the 33rd anniversary of the Via D'Amelio massacre. "The Anti-Mafia Commission," Colosimo added, "has organized the first international mission, a trip along the drug trafficking route, starting from Gioa Tauro. If Falcone and Borsellino, decades ago, had spoken of the drug lords' intention to colonize certain territories, now we can say that those territories have been colonized and that the mafias work closely with the drug cartels."

"If anyone thinks they can write a convenient story about the mafia massacres to be read by our children in a few years, they will continue to find us an obstacle. It will be of no use to gag the champions of the Anti-Mafia like Scarpinato and De Raho, whom we brought to Parliament and who the majority instead wants to expel from the commissions: they will not stop us in the obstinate path to the search for the truth. It is extremely serious that they want to ignore the traces that, regarding the massacres of 1992-93, lead to excellent instigators and exponents of the subversive right responsible for the neo-fascist massacres, such as Paolo Bellini, recently definitively convicted for the Bologna massacre. It is extremely serious that the government's conventional phrases regarding the massacre of 19 July 1992 in Via D'Amelio, are accompanied by disastrous facts and choices for the fight against mafias and corruption, such as the abolition of abuse of office, the weakening of legality and anti-corruption safeguards, the Wild West of subcontracting, cuts to wiretaps. They find and will find a wall in us." Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte wrote on Facebook. "This is the commitment with which we intend to honor every day the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for us. This is how we will continue to cherish the memory of Paolo Borsellino and the agents Agostino Catalano, Emanuela Loi, Vincenzo Li Muli, Walter Eddie Cosina, and Claudio Traina, who paid with their lives for their commitment against the mafia, for truth and justice," Conte concluded.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantosi, Police Chief Vittorio Pisani, and National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor Giovanni Melillo paid tribute this morning at the Escort Unit headquarters at the Lungaro barracks in Palermo to Judge Paolo Borsellino and his police escort—Agostino Catalano, Walter Eddie Cosina, Vincenzo Li Muli, Emanuela Loi, and Claudio Traina—killed in the mafia massacre on Via D'Amelio on July 19, 1992. Also present at the commemoration were Chiara Colosimo, President of the Parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission, Giorgio Mulè, Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Palermo Prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia, Attorney General Lia Sava, and Mayor Roberto Lagalla.

"The Via D'Amelio massacre has left an indelible mark on Italian history. The deaths of Paolo Borsellino and his security detail—Emanuela Loi, Agostino Catalano, Vincenzo Li Muli, Walter Eddie Cosina, and Claudio Traina—commanded by the Mafia to undermine democratic institutions, less than two months after the Capaci attack, were intended to subversively continue their plan of intimidation and fear. Democracy was stronger. The assassins and their instigators were defeated and convicted," said President Sergio Mattarella. "On this day of remembrance, the emotion for the lives cruelly lost and our sympathy for the victims' families remain as intense as they were thirty-three years ago. The sense of gratitude toward those servants of the State who, with dedication and sacrifice, fought the cancer of the Mafia, defending freedom and legality, and enabling society to respond, is everlasting," added the Head of State.

"Today, 33 years after the Via D'Amelio massacre, we remember Paolo Borsellino, a man who sacrificed his life for truth, for justice, for Italy. His example lives on in those who every day, often far from the spotlight, fight for a more just Italy, free from the mafia, corruption, and fear. There is no freedom without justice, there is no state without legality. We owe gratitude and respect to the many magistrates, law enforcement officers, and public servants who chose courage, even at the cost of their lives. They blazed a trail that cannot be forgotten. That witness remains firm. And we will carry it forward every day, with respect, with determination, with love for our nation. In memory of Paolo Borsellino and of those who never bowed their heads." Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote this in X.