Why Italy's Genoa bridge collapse led to one of its biggest criminal trials

On August 14, 2018, the Morandi bridge in Genoa collapsed under torrential rain, killing 43 people. Designed by Riccardo Morandi and inaugurated in 1967, the bridge had been warned about by experts for deterioration without critical repairs. On July 16, 2026, judges in Genoa are set to deliver a verdict in the first trial over the collapse, involving dozens of defendants. Families of the victims hope the ruling will bring some measure of justice, nearly eight years after the disaster.