Giovanni Castellucci, the former chief executive of Italy's motorway operator Autostrade per l'Italia, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday for his role in the 2018 collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, which killed 43 people. He was among 32 individuals convicted in a trial that also saw sentences ranging from one year and 11 months to 12 years.
Details of the Verdict
In a hushed courtroom in Genoa, Judge Paolo Lepri read the verdicts to a packed audience of about 400 relatives of the victims, lawyers, journalists, and members of the public. Castellucci was found guilty of complicity in multiple counts of manslaughter through negligence. His lawyers announced they would appeal, stating that as CEO, Castellucci relied on Italy's leading engineers. They called the verdict “a defeat for the truth.”
Egle Possetti, a spokesperson for the victims who lost her sister, brother-in-law, and two nieces in the tragedy, told Reuters: “We need to better understand the ruling; there are a large number of defendants involved.” Some relatives embraced and wept as the verdicts were read.
The Collapse and Its Aftermath
The Morandi Bridge, a 51-year-old structure, collapsed during a summer storm on August 14, 2018, when a 50-metre section fell away, sending vehicles plunging onto warehouses and a riverbed below. It was one of the worst tragedies in modern Italian history, stunning the nation and exposing deep concerns over the safety of Italy's ageing infrastructure.
Prosecutors argued that years of neglected maintenance, ignored warning signs, and repeated delays to safety works contributed to the collapse. They alleged that essential repairs were postponed while Autostrade continued to generate and distribute profits. The defence countered that the disaster was caused by a fatal flaw in the bridge's original design, specifically the failure of stay cable No 9, and that no maintenance programme could have prevented it.
Broader Impact
All defendants denied wrongdoing. Among the 56 originally on trial, 32 were convicted, while others were acquitted or had lesser charges expire under the statute of limitations. The trial became both a search for accountability and a test of Italy's notoriously slow justice system.
The disaster also triggered a political battle over control of Italy's motorway network, ending with the Benetton family relinquishing its controlling stake in Autostrade per l'Italia. The remains of the Morandi Bridge were demolished and replaced by the Genoa San Giorgio Bridge, designed by Genoa-born architect Renzo Piano, who donated the project to his hometown. The new bridge, which opened in August 2020, features sail-shaped elements inspired by the city's maritime heritage.
Castellucci's lawyers stated: “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.”
