Full Breakdown
Verdict Delivered in Genoa: 32 Convicted for 2018 Morandi Bridge Collapse
7/19/2026, 12:41:38 AM
Core Event – First-Instance Sentencing
On 16 July 2026, the Genoa court handed down its first-instance verdict for the 2018 collapse of the Morandi bridge. Thirty-two of the 57 defendants were found guilty of offenses ranging from vehicular homicide to aggravated manslaughter and falsifying documents. Sentences span 12 years (former Autostrade per l’Italia chief executive Giovanni Castellucci) down to 23 months. The collapse on 14 August 2018 killed 43 people, injured 16, and displaced 566 residents.
Background & Context – From Iconic Span to “Ticking Time Bomb”
The 1,182-metre viaduct, designed by engineer Riccardo Morandi and inaugurated in 1967, carried the A10 motorway (European route E80) linking northern Italy with the French Riviera. Repeated warnings about corrosion of the stay-cable on pillar 9 were recorded from the 1990s onward, yet major reinforcement work was never completed. The bridge’s failure during a summer storm sparked a four-year criminal investigation that examined hundreds of Italy’s bridges, tunnels and bypasses.
Key Figures & Groups
- Giovanni Castellucci – former CEO of Autostrade per l’Italia (ASPI) and Atlantia.
- Michele Donferri Mitelli – former head of maintenance at ASPI (11-year sentence).
- Antonino Galatà – former CEO of SPEA, the engineering subsidiary (5 years 6 months).
- Edoardo Rixi – Italy’s deputy transport secretary, commenting on the ruling.
- Arrigo Giana – current ASPI chief executive, issued an open-letter apology.
- Egle Possetti – chair of the victims’ memorial committee, spokesperson for families.
- Raffaele Caruso – lawyer for victims, highlighted systemic failures.
Timeline of Major Milestones
- 14 Aug 2018 – Bridge collapse during rainstorm.
- July 2022 – Trial opens in Genoa (57 defendants).
- 2022-2026 – 284 hearings, 5,000-page closing brief, 24,000 transcript pages.
- 16 Jul 2026 – Verdict delivered; sentencing to be published within six months.
Data & Statistics
- Deaths: 43 | Injured: 16 | Displaced residents: 566
- Convicted: 32 | Acquitted/limitation: 25
- Sentences: 12 years (max) to 23 months (min)
- Prosecutors’ request: ? 400 years total imprisonment.
- Civil settlement: ? €30 million paid by ASPI and SPEA to the state.
Why It Matters – Infrastructure, Justice and Public Trust
The ruling underscores chronic maintenance lapses in Italy’s aging transport network and highlights the slow pace of criminal proceedings for complex technical cases. It also feeds into the EU-funded recovery plan that obliges Italy to cut case-resolution times by 25 % by June 2026. Families view the verdict as a step toward accountability, while the broader debate centers on whether private concessionaires or state oversight bear primary responsibility.
Official Statements & Responses
- Judge Paolo Lepri read the verdict, noting that the court must issue its reasoning within six months.
- Edoardo Rixi called the decision “an important step on the path of truth and justice.”
- Arrigo Giana apologized in an open letter, saying the gesture “cannot erase the families’ pain” but is a moral duty.
- Prosecutor Walter Cotugno described the bridge as a “ticking time bomb” whose collapse was “foreseeable and preventable.”
Criticism & Opposition – Defence Perspective
Castellucci’s lawyers, led by Giovanni Paolo Accinni, argue the former CEO relied on leading engineers and was scapegoated. They contend that a hidden design defect in the concrete-encased cable caused the failure, not neglected maintenance. Accinni labeled the verdict “a profound flaw” and pledged an appeal.
On-the-Ground Reports – Victims’ Voices
The courtroom was packed with roughly 400 relatives, many in tears. Egle Possetti described the sentencing as “a ray of light” after years of uncertainty, while other family members expressed both relief and lingering grief.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps – Cause of Collapse
Prosecutors maintain that delayed maintenance and ignored warning signs led to the collapse, whereas defence teams assert that an inherent design flaw in cable 9 made the disaster unavoidable. The trial did not resolve this technical dispute, leaving the precise causal hierarchy open.
Verbatim Quotes
- “there were serious failures in management, and 43 people paid with their lives.” — Egle Possetti, victims’ representative
- “I wish to apologise to the victims’ families, to the people of Genoa, and to all Italians for the suffering caused by the tragic Morandi disaster, fully aware that our gesture can never erase their pain,” — Arrigo Giana, ASPI CEO
- “The collapse was not a stroke of fate, but the result of serious errors and omissions by those who had a duty to ensure safety.” — Edoardo Rixi, deputy transport secretary
- “From 1993 onward, the problem was known. We had three identical pylons. Two had already shown the same defect, and no one seriously asked whether the third one had it as well,” — Raffaele Caruso, victims’ lawyer
- “This is a defeat for the truth of what happened,” — Giovanni Paolo Accinni, Castellucci’s lawyer
