A total of 32 individuals have been convicted in connection with the catastrophic 2018 collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy, an incident that claimed 43 lives. Among those sentenced on Thursday in the north-western Italian city was Giovanni Castellucci, the former chief executive of the motorway operator Autostrade per l’Italia, who received a 12-year prison term—the longest handed down in the case.
The collapse of the 51-year-old structure occurred during a severe summer storm, causing a 50-metre section of the bridge to plummet, sending vehicles crashing onto the riverbed and nearby warehouses. Considered one of the most significant tragedies in modern Italian history, the disaster prompted a lengthy legal process that served as both a search for accountability and a test of Italy’s judicial system.
Castellucci was found guilty of complicity in multiple counts of manslaughter through negligence. His legal team has indicated that they intend to appeal the verdict, characterizing the court’s decision as a “defeat for the truth.” In a formal statement, his lawyers maintained that the disaster resulted from a structural flaw in the bridge’s original design, specifically involving the failure of stay cable No 9, which they argued could not have been prevented by any maintenance program. They further asserted that the legal proceedings sought a scapegoat rather than focusing on individual responsibility. In a statement issued after the verdicts, Castelluci’s lawyers said: “The suffering caused by the Genoa tragedy is immense and deserves respect. But the gravity of the event requires justice to remain based on individual responsibility, not the search for a scapegoat.”
Prosecutors, however, contended that the collapse was the direct result of years of deferred maintenance, ignored safety warnings, and repeated delays in essential repairs, alleging that the operator prioritized profits over public safety. The trial concluded with sentences for the 32 convicted individuals ranging from one year and 11 months to the 12-year maximum.
The courtroom was filled with approximately 400 people, including legal professionals, journalists, and relatives of the victims. “We need to better understand the ruling; there are a large number of defendants involved,” Egle Possetti, a spokesperson for the victims, who lost her sister, brother-in-law and her sister’s two children in the tragedy, told Reuters.
In the aftermath of the collapse, the Benetton family surrendered its controlling stake in Autostrade per l’Italia. The original bridge was eventually demolished and replaced by the Genoa San Giorgio Bridge, a project donated by architect Renzo Piano to his home city. The new structure, which opened in August 2020, features a design inspired by Genoa’s maritime history.
There was silence as the judge read out the verdicts in a courtroom packed with about 400 relatives of the victims, lawyers, journalists and members of the public. Some relatives embraced and wept. Others said they needed time to come to terms with what the court had decided.
All of the defendants had denied wrongdoing. In all, 32 people were convicted and handed sentences ranging from one year and 11 months to 12 years. Others were either found not guilty, or lesser charges had expired under the statute of limitations.
