(ANSA) - The fourth anniversary of the devastating terrorist attacks in the United States was marked all over Italy with a series events, while in Padua a monument was unveiled in memory of the victims of 9/11.
The memorial, 'Memory and Light', was designed by Daniel Libeskind and Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi sent a special message to Veneto Region President Giancarlo Galan applauding the initiative.
In his message, the president observed that "this work of art can be a symbol which bolsters the awareness of the ideals of peace, democracy and solidarity which must always enlighten humanity's path."
"All peoples who believe in peaceful coexistence feel committed to a a common approach which can contribute to dialogue and mutual understanding in order to overcome the barriers which can exist between different cultures," Ciampi added.
In a ceremony celebrated in Rome, which was also attended by the new American ambassador to Rome, Ronald P. Spogli, House Speaker Pier Ferdinando Casini observed that "September 11 was a deep wound straight to the heart of the West and in Europe there are those who do not know how deep this wound was."
"September 11 has been followed by too much amnesia in the West. Many wept at the time but many now also have forgotten too easily," he added.
"We will continue in our commitment and battle against terrorism. We owe this to our children if we want to leave them a more united and just world, where development, security and peace are truly for everyone," Casini said.
The House speaker also stressed the need "not to accept the distorted logic, which terrorists seek to impose, that were are engaged in a conflict of cultures."
Senate Speaker Marcello Pera, speaking in Florence, recalled that while it may have been the most devastating, 9/11 had not been the first al Qaeda attack against the US and "unfortunately the West's response to Islamic terrorism has not been unequivocal."
He then went on to criticise France and Germany for not joining the US and Britain in "taking up arms against terrorism and bringing democracy to countries run by bloody dictatorship."
"We cannot expect to deal with these difficult times and the challenges of the future without the United States," Pera said.
Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday recalled the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States and all victims of terrorism. Speaking at his lakeside summer residence outside Rome to those who had come to receive his blessing, the pope switched to English to say that he had asked God to "inspire all men and women of good will to give up hate and help establish justice, solidarity and peace in the world."
