Genoa bridge disaster: Families of 43 victims await verdict

On the morning of 14 August 2018, Claudia Possetti, 47, was in the car with her new husband Andrea, and her two children, aged 12 and 16.

The couple had just married and were driving to the Italian Riviera with the youngsters for a holiday when the Morandi bridge in the northern city of Genoa collapsed beneath them.

Their car was among those that plunged from the viaduct on to the railway tracks below. The four of them were among 43 people killed in one of Italy's worst infrastructure disasters in decades.

Nearly eight years on, Claudia's sister, Egle Possetti, will be among relatives gathering in a Genoa courtroom on Thursday to hear a first-instance verdict in the trial over the collapse. The children's father, who survived them, is also expected to be in court.

"I feel anxious, worried, very emotional," Egle told the BBC. "After so many years, so many hearings, we may be able to see some light. It would be so important for us to know if someone's been held accountable."

Families of the victims are calling for answers after so many years of uncertainty.

Egle Possetti, who also represents the victims' families committee, says she and other relatives of the deceased hope responsibility will be clearly pinned down.

"For so many years, lawyers told us that what happened was no-one's fault, that it was just an accident. But this decision could be symbolically so important. Finding who is responsible could give us some sort of peace and a sense of justice."

On the eve of the verdict, Autostrade per l'Italia issued its first apology over the disaster, in an open letter from chief executive Arrigo Giana published in two Italian newspapers.

Giana, who took over last year, wrote that he had long wondered why the company never apologised at the time, calling it a "further, incomprehensible wound" for a community already in shock.

He said the current company operates under different ownership and management, and that making amends now, even if it cannot undo the families' pain, was a moral duty. Aspi and Spea are no longer defendants in the criminal case, having reached a settlement to pay around €30m (£25m) in damages.

The old viaduct's remains were blown up in early 2019 with two explosions.

A new viaduct, designed by Genoa-born architect Renzo Piano, opened just 18 months later, in August 2020.

Known as the Genoa San Giorgio Bridge, its sail-like white pillars are meant to evoke the city's maritime history.

The victims' families committee is due to hold a press conference in Genoa on Thursday evening, once the verdict has been delivered.