Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
The Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (VCO) is a territory of northern Piedmont that includes, among others, the municipalities of Domodossola and Omegna. On 11 November 2026 the area was caught up in a nationwide wave of false bomb threats that hit hundreds of schools across Italy, with precautionary evacuations also at several schools in the VCO.[1][2]
The wave of bomb threats of 11 November 2026
On the morning of Wednesday 11 November 2026 a series of anonymous emails containing threats of attacks reached about a hundred Italian schools around 9:50am, triggering emergency procedures at numerous institutions.[1] The message, signed by a self-styled Mikhail Andropov, claimed the presence of a remotely detonated explosive device and contained death threats, as well as references to an alleged attack on the Prime Minister's car.[1][4]
In the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, evacuations were confirmed at two upper secondary schools, in Domodossola and Omegna, where the Dalla Chiesa-Spinelli institute and the Beltrami comprehensive school were evacuated.[2] Firefighters and Carabinieri went to the scene to check the buildings; the checks found nothing, and no device of any kind was found.[2] Classes remained temporarily suspended at the affected schools pending the all-clear to return, while police forces launched inquiries to trace the origin of the mass email sending.[2]
The regional picture
That same morning the wave of threats also affected other areas of Piedmont, including Turin and its province, the Canavese, the Novarese, the Astigiano and the Monregalese.[1][3][4] Piedmont Region president Alberto Cirio said he was personally monitoring developments, together with the prefects of Piedmont and the regional education authority, in connection with the bomb threats that had affected hundreds of schools across Italy and Piedmont.[1][3] Regional councillor for Education Daniela Cameroni called the episode «of unprecedented gravity», stressing that it was a «criminal act that must be prosecuted with the utmost firmness» and thanking the police forces involved in the checks.[3]
A similar episode had already affected Piedmont on 2 November 2026, when an email containing a bomb threat reached the Trino comprehensive school, in the Province of Vercelli: on that occasion too the school's management arranged for middle-school students to leave early, and Carabinieri intervened with a dog unit, ruling out the presence of any device.[1]
Checks into the new emails are under way by the Postal Police and other law-enforcement bodies, tasked with tracing the origin of the messages and identifying those responsible.[1]
Timeline
- — On the Statale 337 road through the Vigezzo Valley, in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, from 29 October a daytime closure between Re and the Ribellasca border crossing and alternating one-way traffic between Masera and Malesco come into force for roadworks. → CronacaQui Torino
- — A new wave of anonymous emails with false bomb threats hits hundreds of schools across Italy during the morning and causes precautionary evacuations at several schools in Piedmont, including Turin, the Canavese, the Novarese, the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, the Astigiano and the Monregalese. → Quotidiano Piemontese NovaraToday
Sources
- Allarme bomba nelle scuole, nuova ondata di email minatorie in Italia: segnalazioni anche a Torino — Quotidiano Piemontese, 11 November 2026
- Ondata di allarmi bomba anche nelle scuole del Novarese e del Vco: scattano le evacuazioni — NovaraToday, 11 November 2026
- Allarmi bomba in centinaia di scuole in Italia: anche nell’Astigiano — ATnews, 11 November 2026
- Allarme bomba nelle scuole di Torino e altre città italiane: scattano le evacuazioni — Torino Free, 11 November 2026