The commitment of the relatives
Association “19 luglio val di Stava”
Soon after the disaster, the relatives of the victims and those who suffered material damage as a result of the Stava valley disaster founded the Association of the Relatives of the Victims of the Stava Valley Disaster “Associazione Sinistrati Val di Stava”.
The Association has played an extremely important role in drafting a number of laws of the Italian State and the Autonomous Province of Trento, with which fiscal benefits and financial aid have been set up for the survivors and for rebuilding the businesses and homes destroyed by the flowslide.
The Association supported the requests of more than 180 plaintiffs during the various phases of the trial. It availed itself of a group of lawyers and experts of the highest order. The group of experts comprised university professors and researchers from Italy, Great Britain and the United States.
In 2012, the Assembly of the Association unanimously approved a modification of the statute which, besides choosing the new name “Associazione 19 luglio val di Stava”, grants the possibility of joining the association to all those who share its goals, even if they were not directly affected by the Stava disaster.
The Stava 1985 Foundation
In order to make sure that the death of 268 innocent people on 19th July 1985 in the Stava valley was not in vain, the relatives of the victims forming the Association of the Relatives of the Victims of the Stava Valley Disaster decided to create the Stava 1985 Foundation.
The duty of the Foundation is to keep alive the historical memory of the Stava valley disaster and strengthen the culture of prevention, correct territorial management and safety since shortcomings in these fields were the cause of these and other man-induced disasters.
The pioneer members of the Foundation comprise the Association of the Relatives of the Victims of the Stava Valley Disaster, today renamed Association “19 luglio val di Stava”, the “Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme”, the Municipalities of Tesero, Longarone and Cavalese.
Audience with the President of the Italian Republic
On 22nd September 1999, Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi granted a private audience to the promoters of the Stava 1985 Foundation at the Quirinale Palace in Rome.
President Ciampi stated that he subscribed to the Foundation’s objectives and pledged his support to the Foundation by granting it the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic during his term of office.
The promoters of the Foundation presented Mr. Ciampi with a bronze replica of the monument commemorating the victims of the Stava valley disaster, which was sculpted by Felix Deflorian and is located in the cemetery of San Leonardo in Tesero.