Italy faced several terror attacks between 1992 – 93 perpetrated by the Sicilian Mafia as a consequence of several life sentences pronounced during the " Maxi Trial " , and of the new anti-mafia measures launched by the government . In 1992 , two major dynamite attacks killed the judges Giovanni Falcone ( 23 May in the Capaci bombing ) and Paolo Borsellino ( 19 July in the Via D'Amelio bombing ) . One year later ( May – July 1993 ) , tourist spots were attacked , such as the Via dei Georgofili in Florence , Via Palestro in Milan , and the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano and Via San Teodoro in Rome , leaving 10 dead and 93 injured and causing severe damage to cultural heritage such as the Uffizi Gallery . The Catholic Church openly condemned the Mafia , and two churches were bombed and an anti-Mafia priest shot dead in Rome . Also in the early 1990s , Italy faced significant challenges , as voters – disenchanted with political paralysis , massive public debt and the extensive corruption system ( known as '' Tangentopoli '' ) uncovered by the Clean Hands ( '' Mani Pulite '' ) investigation – demanded radical reforms . The scandals involved all major parties , but especially those in the government coalition : the Christian Democrats , who ruled for almost 50 years , underwent a severe crisis and eventually disbanded , splitting up into several factions . The Communists reorganised as a social-democratic force . During the 1990s and the 2000s , centre-right ( dominated by media magnate Silvio Berlusconi ) and centre-left coalitions ( led by university professor Romano Prodi ) alternately governed the country
Via dei Georgofili
Via dei Georgofili bombing
Italy