"12 years for ex-motorway executive over Genoa bridge collapse", 16 July 2026

A court in the northern Italian city of Genoa on Thursday sentenced former motorway operator chief Giovanni Castellucci to 12 years in prison over the 2018 collapse of the Morandi bridge, which killed 43 people.

Castellucci, the former chief executive of motorway operator Autostrade per l'Italia (ASPI), was found guilty for his role in the disaster, one of Italy's worst infrastructure failures in recent decades…

The court also sentenced other guilty parties to prison terms of several years.

The Morandi bridge collapsed suddenly on August 14, 2018, at 11:36 am, sending a 200-metre section of the motorway plunging around 45 metres to the ground below. Cars and lorries fell with the bridge, killing motorists as well as several people on the ground who were struck by falling concrete.

A total of 43 people died and 16 were injured. Around 600 residents lost their homes.

An expert investigation concluded that the bridge, which opened in 1967, had suffered severe deterioration as a result of inadequate maintenance.

The trial, which involved 57 defendants, lasted four years…

A spokeswoman for the victims' families, Egle Possetti, welcomed the verdict against Castellucci. She said the court's decision was "understandable," but said she would reserve further comment until all the verdicts had been read out.

After the disaster, the remaining sections of the Morandi bridge, named after its designer Riccardo Morandi, were later demolished in a controlled explosion.