Judge Paolo Lepri said the first hearing ended “resoundingly premature” and that the second was scheduled for September 12, when the judges would rule on the requests made by the civil plaintiffs. The Morandi Bridge, part of a major arterial route connecting eastern and western Genoa, and the regions of Lombardy and Piedmont with Liguria and the French border, collapsed during a storm on August 14, 2018, killing 43 people. of whom the youngest was eight years old. boy, falling 45 meters to his death in one of the worst tragedies in modern Italian history. Those on trial include former bosses and technical officials of Autostrade per l’Italia (ASPI), the motorway company, and SPEA, its maintenance unit, as well as current and former transport ministry managers and civil servants. The Morandi Bridge has been plagued with structural issues since its construction in the late 1960s, leading to costly maintenance. The prosecution argued that many of the defendants knew the bridge was in danger of collapsing but did nothing to prevent it. But the lawyer for former Austostrade chief executive Giovanni Castellucci, who is among the defendants, said the trial would show the bridge collapsed not as a result of maintenance negligence but due to an initial “construction defect”. “This is why 43 people died in a horrific and senseless way,” Giovanni Paolo Accini told reporters outside the Genoa court, LaPresse news agency reported. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST The remains of the structure were demolished and a new bridge, designed by architect Renzo Piano, was inaugurated in July 2020. Relatives of the deceased, who leave flowers by the bridge on the 14th day of every month, have been waiting a long time for the case to reach court. Egle Possetti, whose sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew were among the dead and who heads a committee of victims’ relatives, told reporters before Thursday’s hearing: “We have a lot of expectations. this process must lead to justice and truth for our families and for Italians. “We are convinced that the prosecution’s case is very strong and if this leads to a stalemate, even with this strong evidence, it means that as a nation we no longer have hope.” Despite their former directors being on trial, Autostrade and Spea will escape legal proceedings after reaching a deal that included paying €30m to the state. The trial hearings at the Genoa court are scheduled until July 19, 2023.
