The Battle of the Pastificio was the most violent episode in the Italian military mission in Somalia in the 1990s. After the collapse of the central government in 1991, the United Nations decided to send a peacekeeping force to Somalia to prevent warlords and local armed groups from sowing chaos and destruction. Italy participated in the operation with 2,000 men, many of them paratroopers from the Folgore regiment. The situation in Mogadishu, the capital, was tense and on 5 June 1993, 24 Pakistani blue helmets were killed in a militia ambush. A little less than a month later, Italians were also involved in bitter urban clashes, which in retrospect came to be called the ‘Battle of the Pasta Factory’.

The Pasta Factory was a former factory located in the centre of Mogadishu, which had become a stronghold of the Somali militias. The Italians aimed to recapture it and, on 2 July, a contingent of about 100 paratroopers, supported by Centaur and Puma armoured vehicles, advanced into the area to occupy the stronghold, but were unexpectedly surrounded by hundreds of militia and engaged in a bitter urban battle.

The lack of air support prevented the Italians from advancing effectively or breaking through the encirclement quickly. Somali militiamen engaged the Italians from all sides, firing intense Ak-47 and RPG fire, but the paratroopers managed to hold their ground and hold their positions. The fighting went on for about six hours until the encirclement was broken and the retreat could begin, but the toll was dramatic.

Over 100 Somali militiamen had been killed and an unknown number of civilians. The Italian contingent had lost three men and 36 were wounded. The most dramatic moment was when an RPG hit the Puma armoured car driven by Sergeant Stefano Paolicchi, killing him instantly. Shortly afterwards, Pasquale Baccaro and Giacomo Ciriello met a similar tragic end due to the intense militia fire. The clash marks one of the most heroic pages of recent Italian military history.