Lucrezia Ciotti Fear erupted overnight in La Spezia, where a fire devastated the Flying Dutchman, a venue designated by CasaPound as its city headquarters. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, while the movement openly refers to it as a "terrorist attack."
Fire at CasaPound headquarters in La Spezia overnight: investigations into the cause underway
A fire ravaged the Flying Dutchman on the night between Friday and Saturday , a venue on Via Genova, in the northern part of La Spezia, frequented for years by far-right activists and designated by CasaPound as its local headquarters. The blaze broke out when the pub was closed , and the flames quickly engulfed the wooden furnishings, spreading to the ground-floor rooms of a residential building along Via Aurelia.
Firefighters responded to the scene with a fire engine, ladder truck, and seven firefighting units: extinguishing operations continued until dawn. As reported by Repubblica , no one appears to have been injured , although the incident has caused concern among local residents. Police and firefighters are conducting the necessary investigations to determine the origin of the flames.
The Police Headquarters, pending the final outcome of the investigations, does not exclude the possibility of malicious intent.
CasaPound calls it a "terrorist attack" and calls for a political condemnation.
CasaPound Italia, however, immediately attributed the fire to deliberate intent. "Last night, our headquarters in La Spezia, the Flying Dutchman, was set on fire. It has been our point of reference in the Ligurian city for six years , " reads the statement released by the movement. CasaPound also maintains that "the deliberate nature of the fire has already been confirmed: we are facing a terrorist attack and we must have the courage to say so without hesitation , " calling for a cross-party political condemnation and linking the episode to the climate of tension in Liguria.
In the same statement, the movement states: " For our part, we will not take any step back in the face of mafia methods and the connivance of militant anti-fascism. We will always defend our right to exist and to assert our ideas ." In La Spezia, the presence of CasaPound has repeatedly been at the center of political conflict: last year, a pro-remigration march also sparked controversy , which was countered by an anti-fascist demonstration in which the center-right mayor Pierluigi Peracchini also participated.