After eight years, the Morandi Bridge verdict has been handed down: 57 defendants and nearly 400 years of prison sought.

Nearly eight years after the collapse of the Morandi Bridge, the first-instance verdict is expected on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in one of the most complex and significant legal proceedings held in Italy in recent decades. Fifty-seven defendants will appear before the judges of the Court of Genoa, including former executives, managers, technicians, and public officials involved in various capacities in the management, maintenance, and oversight of the viaduct over the Polcevera River.

The collapse that caused the death of 43 people

The Morandi Bridge collapsed at 11.36:43 a.m. on August 14, 2018 , during a violent storm that hit Genoa. A portion of the highway viaduct collapsed, dragging cars and heavy vehicles into the void. Forty-three people lost their lives in the disaster , while hundreds of residents were forced to abandon their homes in the area below.

The tragedy profoundly affected the city and the entire country, sparking a national debate on infrastructure safety, the systems for controlling motorway concessions, and the responsibilities of those who were supposed to ensure the maintenance of the work.

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A process that began in July 2022

The trial opened on July 7, 2022 , and continued for four years through 284 hearings . The judging panel is presided over by Paolo Lepri, assisted by judges Ferdinando Baldini and Fulvio Polidori.

During the trial, 282 witnesses and four experts were heard. Twelve defendants submitted to the examination, while 21 others chose to give spontaneous statements. The judges were asked to examine thousands of documents, technical reports, internal communications, and testimonies relating to the management of the bridge in the years preceding the collapse.

The objections raised by the Genoa Prosecutor's Office

The defendants are charged, with different positions and charges, with crimes including multiple manslaughter, road homicide, wilful collapse, attack on transport safety, failure to perform official duties, forgery and wilful omission of safety devices in the workplace.

The charges concern former managers and technicians of Autostrade per l'Italia, of the Spea Engineering company, responsible for supervision and design activities, as well as officials of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Public Works Department.

Criminal liability must be determined individually by the court, and until a final sentence is pronounced, the constitutional principle of the presumption of innocence remains valid for all defendants.

The prosecution's case regarding checks and maintenance

According to the reconstruction by public prosecutors Walter Cotugno and Marco Airoldi, the disaster was preceded by years of insufficient checks, postponed interventions, and maintenance considered inadequate given the condition of the viaduct.

The prosecution claims that the need to contain costs and ensure greater dividends for shareholders gradually prevailed over safety concerns. This interpretation has been harshly contested by the defense, which during the trial questioned the connection between the conduct attributed to the individual defendants and the collapse of the structure.

Prosecutors requested nearly 400 years in prison

The Genoa Prosecutor's Office has requested sentences totaling nearly 400 years of imprisonment for 56 defendants , in addition to one acquittal. The sentences requested by the prosecutors vary and take into account the roles held, the length of time served, and the conduct each defendant is accused of.

The highest sentence, 18 years and six months , is for Giovanni Castellucci, former CEO of Autostrade per l'Italia. Castellucci has always denied the accusation of knowingly neglecting the safety of the viaduct, declaring before the judges that he feels "responsible but not guilty."

The requests for the other main defendants

Among the other requests made by the Prosecutor's Office is a 15-year and six-month sentence for Michele Donferri Mitelli, former maintenance manager for Autostrade per l'Italia. For Maurizio Ceneri, a former Spea executive, a 13-year sentence was requested.

Also involved in the proceedings is Mauro Coletta, a director of the Ministry of Infrastructure accused of failing to ensure adequate public oversight and inspections. The defendant argued that the offices were understaffed and that technical inspections were primarily the responsibility of the concessionaire and the company responsible for oversight.

An exceptional amount of documents and computer material

The trial over the collapse of the Morandi Bridge has assumed extraordinary proportions, also due to the quantity of material acquired and produced. The case file contains over 12 terabytes of documentation , including photographs, videos, reports, correspondence, and technical data.

332 paper folders and 352 electronic media were collected. The hearing transcripts exceeded 24 pages, in addition to over 10 pages of summary reports and over 5 pages containing the Prosecutor's Office's closing briefs.

The proceedings involved 67 lawyers representing the defendants and 33 lawyers representing the civil parties.

The civil parties and the agreements reached during the trial

At the beginning of the proceedings, 658 individuals had requested to join the proceedings as civil parties. The court admitted over 200 of them, a figure that was subsequently increased to 168 following financial settlements reached by some families and other injured parties.

The civil parties include victims' families, survivors, residents, businesses, associations, local authorities, and national institutions. Autostrade per l'Italia and Spea withdrew from the proceedings after reaching a plea bargain for a total amount of nearly €30 million.

Over three years of investigation before the trial

The investigation, conducted by the Guardia di Finanza (Italian Finance Police), coordinated by the Genoa Public Prosecutor's Office, lasted over three years. The preliminary hearing lasted approximately five months, before the trial began in July 2022.

Investigators reconstructed the monitoring procedures, the relationships between the concessionaire and the surveillance company, internal communications, and the technical assessments made over the years regarding the viaduct's condition.

After the collapse, other investigations were opened regarding alleged false reports on viaducts and tunnels and the safety of some sound barriers installed along the motorway network.

The new bridge is still an open wound for Genoa.

The viaduct over the Polcevera River was rebuilt based on a design donated by architect Renzo Piano. The new Genova San Giorgio Bridge was inaugurated on August 3, 2020, less than two years after the tragedy.

The reconstruction of the infrastructure, however, has not erased the pain of the families and the community. A memorial clearing has been created under the new bridge, intended as a place of commemoration and reflection, although some planned works in the area remain to be completed.

Meanwhile, construction sites and maintenance work continue along the Ligurian motorway network, impacting regional traffic and causing frequent disruption to motorists, residents, and businesses.

Autostrade per l'Italia's letter of apology

On the eve of the sentence, the CEO of Autostrade per l'Italia, Arrigo Giana , released an open letter addressed to the victims' families, to the citizens of Genoa and to all Italians.

Giana stated that the company awaits the verdict with the same "desire for truth" as the families affected by the tragedy. In the letter, the executive recalled the images of August 14, 2018, and called the company's failure to immediately apologize after the collapse incomprehensible.

"Apologizing today is a moral imperative."

The letter's central point concerns the company's silence in the years following the tragedy. "The actions and choices of some have left indelible scars," Giana wrote, explaining that "offering today the apologies we didn't make yesterday is our moral obligation ," regardless of the legal process and the determination of individual responsibilities.

The CEO then apologized, on behalf of the Autostrade per l'Italia Group, for the suffering caused by the collapse, acknowledging that the gesture will not erase the pain of those involved.

The call to the new structure of the company

In the letter, Giana emphasized that the current Autostrade per l'Italia is profoundly different from the company that managed the network in 2018. The group is now under public control and has new shareholders, new managers, and a new organization.

The CEO praised the work done by the group's approximately ten thousand employees to monitor the network, plan interventions, and prevent risks, ensuring that the memory of the Morandi Bridge must remain a permanent reminder.

The change of position compared to the years following the collapse

The letter represents a clear departure from the previous management's approach. After the tragedy, the lack of an immediate apology sparked strong controversy and deepened the rift between the company, the city, and the victims' families.

In the years that followed, some members of the Benetton family expressed differing opinions about the group's responsibilities and behavior. In 2022, Alessandro Benetton publicly acknowledged that an apology should have been issued within hours of the disaster.

The wait of the victims' families

For the families of the 43 victims, the first-instance ruling represents a crucial step in a long and painful legal process. The verdict will not necessarily mark the definitive conclusion of the case, given the possibility of appeals to the Supreme Court and subsequently to the Supreme Court of Cassation.

The Genoa Court's decision will, however, provide a first comprehensive judicial response to the defendants' alleged conduct and any criminal liability in the management of the bridge before its collapse.

The verdict after eight years of pain and questions

Nearly eight years after the morning that changed Genoa forever, Italy awaits the first verdict. The trial sought to reconstruct not only the technical causes of the collapse, but also the decisions, omissions, and control systems that preceded the disaster.

The sentence will be pronounced at the end of a proceeding unprecedented in its size and complexity. At the heart of the proceedings remain the 43 people who lost their lives, the grief of their families, and the demand for truth and justice that has haunted Genoa since August 14, 2018.