Families of 43 victims of the 2018 Genoa bridge collapse are in court today, hoping a verdict will finally hold someone accountable.
On the morning of 14 August 2018, a car carrying newlywed Claudia Possetti and her husband Andrea, together with their two children, was among the vehicles that plunged from the Morandi bridge onto the railway tracks beneath. The disaster claimed 43 lives, including the family's four members, and left Genoa and Italy in mourning.
Nearly eight years later, relatives have gathered in a Genoa courtroom to hear the first-instance verdict. Family spokesperson Egle Possetti, sister of one of the victims, expressed her hope that the trial will finally reveal who bears responsibility.
The case has become a protracted investigation into the maintenance failure of a bridge built in the 1960s.
Since July 2022, 57 defendants, including former executives of Autostrade per l'Italia and its parent company Atlantia, engineers from the maintenance firm Spea, and ex‑transport ministry officials, have stood trial on charges ranging from manslaughter to document falsification. All defendants deny wrongdoing.
The prosecution argues that maintenance was repeatedly delayed, warning signs ignored, and costs prioritized over safety. Defence lawyers counter that the collapse resulted from a design flaw in a buried cable that maintenance could not affect.
The trial has spanned 284 hearings, just shy of four years. Prosecutor Francesco Pinto warned that a final Supreme Court ruling could take another two and a half years to deliver.
On the eve of the verdict, Autostrade per l'Italia released its first apology. Chief executive Arrigo Giana wrote an open letter to the public, acknowledging the company’s past failures and expressing a moral duty to address the pain brought by the collapse.
The old viaduct was demolished in 2019 with two explosions, and a new structure—named the Genoa San Giorgio Bridge—opened in August 2020. Designed by Renzo Piano, the bridge’s sail‑shaped pillars are a nod to Genoa’s maritime heritage.
Families are set to hold a press conference following the verdict, hoping that justice and closure will finally arrive after years of uncertainty.
