By Emilio Parodi
GENOA, Italy, July 16 (Reuters) - Judges in Genoa on Thursday are expected to deliver their verdict in a trial over the collapse of a motorway bridge in the Italian port city in 2018 which killed 43 people.
Relatives of the victims will be in court to hear the outcome of a case that has become a search for accountability for the disaster and a symbol of the slow pace of justice in complex Italian criminal proceedings.
The collapse of the Morandi bridge during a summer storm on the eve of a national holiday shocked Italy and triggered years of investigations into the management and maintenance of its ageing infrastructure.
The disaster also caused a dispute between holding company Atlantia, controlled by the Benetton family, and the then government that ended with the sale of Atlantia's controlling stake in motorway operator Autostrade per l'Italia.
Fifty-seven defendants, including former Atlantia Chief Executive Giovanni Castellucci, managers of Autostrade, engineers from maintenance subsidiary Spea and former transport ministry officials, have been on trial. They have all denied wrongdoing.
For the most serious accusations, Genoa prosecutors sought prison sentences ranging from two years and four months to 18-1/2 years. However, the statute of limitations on many of the lesser charges, such as the forgery of documents, has already passed.
Autostrade and sister company Spea exited the criminal proceedings, having reached a financial settlement in 2022.
The current head of Autostrade issued an open letter on Wednesday, restating the company's commitment to ensure that such a tragedy is not repeated.
"I wish to apologise to the victims’ families, to the people of Genoa, and to all Italians for the suffering caused by the tragic Morandi disaster, fully aware that our gesture can never erase their pain," Autostrade CEO Arrigo Giana wrote.
(Reporting by Emilio ParodiWriting by Keith Weir; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
