Dawson Cemetery wasn’t the only setting in February to remember the 120 men killed in the mine disaster of 1923.

Across the Atlantic, some 5,500 miles away, the 100-year anniversary of the deadly explosion was marked by stories and photographs in Italian newspapers, including a major daily serving the province of Modena in northern Italy.

The Modena coverage was no surprise, given its strong connection to Dawson. While the province lost only two men in the Feb. 8, 1923, incident, 38 of the Italians killed in the 1913 disaster emigrated from that part of the country.

Gazzetta di Modena devoted a full page of coverage on the day of the centennial. In the main story, reporter Gabriele Farina recounted the history of both disasters, mentioning each of the 40 victims by name. Pacifico Santi, one of the two local men killed in 1923, lost a brother a decade earlier in the explosion of Oct. 22, 1913.

In the accompanying sidebar, Farina reported on the statement issued by Fabio Braglia, the newly elected president of Modena.

“Remembering the Modena victims of the New Mexico tragedy is a dutiful act towards our communities and for all our fellow citizens who emigrated to the United States a century ago in search of work and redemption,” he wrote based on an English translation.

“This tragedy should not be forgotten and as a provincial administration we want to rediscover and honor the memory of the 40 victims of Modena, atrociously killed and who deserve, albeit 100 years later, the right public recognition by their community of origin. For this reason it is my intention to promote initiatives soon to pay them the right tribute.”

A few days later, the newspaper published a shorter story with photographs of the memorial service that took place Feb. 5 at Dawson Cemetery. During that Sunday afternoon ceremony, organized by the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), the names were read of each of the 383 men killed in the two disasters.

Gazzetta di Modena wasn’t the only Italian newspaper to mark the occasion. In the nearby province of Bologna, Il Resto del Carlino published a story on the day of the anniversary that included a photograph of Walter Santi holding an old photo of his three uncles. On the day of the 1913 disaster, his father, Frank, lost three brothers and five cousins.

Credit Manlio Badiali, at least in part, for some of this coverage. A descendant of several victims of the 1913 explosion, Badiali took it upon himself to ensure the centennial anniversary of the 1923 mine disaster was not forgotten in his home province of Modena.

The Pompeano resident contacted the offices of the Modena president, the mayors of nearby Fiumalbo and Pievepelago, the Legislative Assembly of the Emilia-Romagna Region, and the Italian consuls in Los Angeles and Santa Fe. He then reached out to the two newspapers, which responded with stories on the day of the anniversary.

“I have always tried to express my feelings about the victims (and their families) of the Dawson mines. Aside from my natural interest in the fate of some of my relatives, I felt a strong empathy for these young men and their families,” he told me in an email.

“It always bothered me that the memory was lost, except for a few memorial stones in a couple of cemeteries … I tried to raise awareness of the institutions to adopt initiatives to still remember the events and values of our fellow citizens.”