loveGSM,
Is it possible that the tires did not "blow up?"
The link below is a brief summary of tire fuse plugs, which this 767 has. The design is intended to prevent tires from "blowing up." However, I was not there, and I did not speak with the Alitalia maintenance crew as you did.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4535957.html
A device (10) for venting aircraft tires comprises a fusible plug (42) and a spring-biased piston (30), both plug (42) and piston (30) being positioned within a single bore (B) of the device. The plug (42) is meltable out of the bore when the wheel (12) temperature increases above a specific limit set by the eutectic material which frees the piston (30) to move out of a spring-biased and bore-sealing position within a sealing ring (22) by an overpressure within the tire which overcomes the spring bias. The piston (30) will return to a sealing position when the pressure drops below a value which is insufficient to overcome the spring bias.