Genoa Court to Deliver Verdict in Trial of 57 Defendants Over 2018 Morandi Bridge Collapse

A Genoa court is scheduled to deliver its first-instance verdict on Thursday in the trial of 57 defendants over the 2018 collapse of the Morandi bridge that killed 43 people. The bridge section fell during a summer storm on 14 August 2018, a major Italian holiday travel day.

Claudia Possetti, 47, her husband Andrea and her two children aged 12 and 16 died when their car plunged onto railway tracks below.

The structure, built in the 1960s, formed part of a key route linking Genoa to the French border. The defendants include former executives of Autostrade per l'Italia and its parent company Atlantia, engineers from maintenance firm Spea, and former transport ministry officials. They face charges of multiple manslaughter, negligent disaster and falsifying documents.

All deny wrongdoing. Autostrade per l'Italia and Spea reached a settlement paying approximately 30 million euros in damages and are no longer defendants in the criminal case. The trial opened in July 2022.

Autostrade per l'Italia chief executive Arrigo Giana issued the company's first public apology in an open letter published in two Italian newspapers. Giana stated that the current company operates under different ownership and management than at the time of the collapse and that making amends is a moral duty. The remains of the old bridge were demolished with two explosions in June 2019.

The replacement Genoa San Giorgio Bridge, designed by Renzo Piano, opened in August 2020. Egle Possetti, sister of victim Claudia Possetti, said she feels anxious and emotional ahead of the ruling. "After so many years, so many hearings, we may be able to see some light," she said.

The victims' families committee plans a press conference in Genoa on Thursday evening after the verdict is delivered.