More than 11,000 people voted in poll to name bridge over river Arno.
Florence has announced that the new bridge spanning the river Arno, connecting the districts of Bellariva and Anconella, will be named after Nadia and Caterina Nencioni.
The two sisters, aged nine years and 50 days respectively, were among the five victims of the devastating mafia car bomb that struck Via dei Georgofili on 27 May 1993.
Florence mayor Sara Funaro last week launched a naming competition, allowing residents to choose one of four names of women who left their mark on the Tuscan capital and Italy.
Online poll
More than 11,000 people voted in the online poll which comes ahead of International Women’s Day and was aimed at addressing the historical underrepresentation of women in the city’s urban toponymy.
In addition to the Nencioni sisters, the other contenders were scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini, politician Tina Anselmi, and partisan Gilda Larocca.
Caterina and Nadia Nencioni received 3,872 votes, followed by Larocca with 3,326 votes, Levi-Montalcini with 2,816, and Anselmi with 1,017 votes.
Innocent victims
Funaro described the winning name as “a gesture that combines memory and civic responsibility”, stating: “The two little sisters, innocent victims of the Georgofili massacre, represent a deep wound for Florence, but also a constant reminder of our commitment to the fight against the Mafia.”
“Dedicating a place in the city to them means transforming their memory into a concrete, everyday sign, so that future generations can continue to know and cherish that memory”, Funaro added.
The bridge, whose structural framework was positioned over the Arno last week, will be a centrepiece of the new tram line toward Bagno a Ripoli and represents the first major road bridge built in Florence in nearly 50 years.
A formal naming ceremony is expected to take place in May to coincide with the anniversary of the bombing.
Via dei Georgofili bombing
The bombing was carried out by the Sicilian Mafia on the night of 26-27 May 1993 in retaliation for the arrest of Mafia boss Salvatore Totò Riina.
The Nencioni sisters were killed along with their parents Angela Fiume and Fabrizio Nencioni, while 22-year-old student Dario Capolicchio was killed in a subsequent fire.
The bombing injured 48 people and caused extensive structural damage to the Uffizi Galleries.
