Urbano CiacciThe last miner of Marcinelle

Charleroi, the “Pays Noir” of coal, brings together the stories of many Italians who arrived in Belgium following the March 15, 1946 agreements between the Italian government under De Gasperi and Brussels.

Men in exchange for coal, labeled as “economic deportees.”
For some, it was an opportunity, for many, a necessity.

The tragedy of Marcinelle on August 8, 1956, claimed the lives of 262 miners, 136 of whom were Italian. Today, of the miners who worked at the Bois du Cazier mine, only one remains: Urbano Ciacci, 88 years old, from Cartoceto in the Marche region.

The interview was published on December 1, 2023, on the online site of “La Repubblica.”