Key facts
- Giovanni Castellucci, former head of Autostrade per l'Italia, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
- The sentence is for his role in the 2018 collapse of the Morandi bridge, which killed 43 people.
- A total of 32 people were convicted in the trial.
- Prosecutors alleged inadequate maintenance and delayed safety work led to the collapse.
- Defense lawyers argued the collapse was due to a design defect.
An Italian court has sentenced Giovanni Castellucci, the former head of motorway operator Autostrade per l'Italia, to 12 years in prison for his role in the 2018 collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa, which killed 43 people. Castellucci was among 57 individuals on trial over the disaster.
In total, 32 people were convicted, with sentences ranging up to 11 years, while 25 were acquitted or cleared due to the statute of limitations. The court's verdict was met with a mix of emotion from the victims' relatives present in the packed courtroom.
Prosecutors argued that years of inadequate maintenance, ignored warning signs, and delayed safety work contributed to the collapse, alleging that vital repairs were postponed while profits were distributed. Defense lawyers rejected this, contending that the disaster stemmed from an original design defect in the bridge's stay cable No. 9.
Castellucci, who also served as chief executive of Atlantia, the controlling shareholder of Autostrade at the time, was convicted of complicity in multiple counts of manslaughter through negligence. His lawyers have stated he will appeal the verdict, arguing that the criminalization of a CEO is not the solution and that he relied on leading engineers. Castellucci is already serving a six-year sentence for another fatal incident in 2013.
The collapse of the 51-year-old Morandi bridge, which sent a 50-meter section falling onto warehouses and a riverbed during a storm, shocked Italy and highlighted concerns about the safety of its aging infrastructure. The disaster also led to a political dispute that resulted in the Benetton family selling its controlling stake in Autostrade per l'Italia.