Genoa Court to Issue Verdicts Thursday in 2018 Morandi Bridge Collapse Trial of 57 Defendants

A Genoa court is scheduled to issue verdicts Thursday in the trial of 57 defendants charged over the 2018 collapse of the Morandi highway bridge that killed 43 people. The collapse occurred on the morning of August 14, 2018, when a 200-meter section of the bridge gave way during a rainstorm.

The incident took place on one of Italy’s busiest travel days as millions headed out for the Ferragosto holiday.

Prosecutors have sought combined sentences totaling nearly 400 years. The defendants include former executives of Autostrade per L’Italia, engineers from its subsidiary SPEA, and former officials from Italy’s Infrastructure Ministry. Most face charges of negligent disaster and multiple counts of manslaughter.

The defendants deny wrongdoing and attribute the collapse to a construction defect. The trial opened in July 2022 and included more than 280 hearings over four years. Autostrade per L’Italia and SPEA reached a settlement paying roughly 30 million euros in damages and are no longer defendants in the criminal case.

Current Autostrade chief executive Arrigo Giana issued a public apology in an open letter published Thursday in major Italian dailies. “The actions and decisions of some people left indelible scars,” Giana said. Maintenance on two of the three pylons began in 1993 but was never extended to the third.

A new bridge designed by Renzo Piano opened in 2020.