Italian officials jailed over Genoa bridge that killed 43
Former Autostrade per l'Italia CEO Giovanni Castellucci was sentenced to 12 years in prison over the 2018 Genoa Morandi bridge collapse that killed 43 people, according to BBC reporting also followed by ITV News audiences. Fellow official Michele Donferri Mitelli received 11 years among 57 defendants tried in Genoa.
Key Takeaways
- Castellucci received a 12-year sentence; Michele Donferri Mitelli was given 11 years.
- Forty-three people died when Genoa's Morandi bridge collapsed in a rainstorm in August 2018.
- Prosecutors had sought far longer terms and about 400 years in total for 57 defendants.
- Defence lawyers blamed a design flaw; prosecutors cited delayed maintenance and ignored warnings.
- Some victims' relatives called the top sentence acceptable and said they were satisfied.
The verdicts, read by Judge Paolo Lepri, close a major chapter in one of Italy's biggest infrastructure accountability cases. For more coverage of courtroom reckoning after mass-casualty failures, see BlasterPost's True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries desk.
Who received the longest jail terms?
According to the BBC, Castellucci — already serving a six-year term linked to a 2013 road disaster — was not in court. Prosecutors had asked for a far longer sentence for the former Autostrade per l'Italia chief.
Paolo Berti, the operator's former number two, received five and a half years, seven years less than prosecutors sought. Spea's former chief executive, Antonino Galatà, also got five and a half years. Mauro Coletta, once the transport ministry's top motorway directorate official, received five years.
Defendants included Spea engineers plus former officials from the transport ministry and Atlantia, Aspi's parent company. All had denied wrongdoing.
What caused the Genoa Morandi bridge to collapse?
On 14 August 2018, a large central section of the 1,182-metre Morandi bridge gave way in torrential rain and fell about 45 metres, Al Jazeera reported. About 30 cars were on that stretch of a key Italy–France highway when vehicles plunged to the ground.
The viaduct, designed by Riccardo Morandi and opened in 1967, had been flagged for deterioration for years. Prosecutors argued maintenance was repeatedly delayed and warning signs ignored. Investigations pointed to ruptured load-bearing cables at the ninth pillar, eaten away by corrosion over 51 years.
Defence lawyers said a concrete-encased design flaw in a specific cable caused the disaster and could not have been prevented by maintenance. Corporate cases against Autostrade and Spea were earlier closed after a financial settlement approved in 2022, Al Jazeera noted.
How did victims' families react to the sentences?
Emmanuel Diaz, whose brother Henry died, told Italian TV he was "very satisfied." Egle Possetti, whose sister and her family were killed, said Castellucci's 12-year term was "acceptable."
On the eve of the trial, Aspi chief Arrigo Giana issued the company's first public apology, saying some people's actions left "indelible scars." Cesare, 18, whose father Andrea Cerulli was among the 43 dead, called that apology "crocodile tears."
Most of the 43 victims were Italian; others included French, Albanian and Chilean nationals. Families had waited nearly eight years for a first-instance ruling in a case that put Italy's ageing infrastructure under intense scrutiny.