Premier Giuseppe Conte said at a ceremony marking the placement of the last structural piece of Genoa’s new road bridge Tuesday that “the State is with Genoa and we are stitching up a wound” opened in August 2018 when the previous structure collapsed with the loss of 43 lives.
Conte said the assessment of who was responsible for that disaster “has still to be completed”.
“Never again must there be tragedies like this”, the premier added.
Reconstruction commissioner and Genoa Mayor Marco Bucci said “the bridge is not finished but today we celebrate the reconnection of the two parts of the valley” that Genoa lies in.
epa08388760 Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte wearing a protective face mask arrives for the inauguration ceremony of the last part of the deck of the new Genoa motorway bridge in Genoa, Italy, 28 April 2020. The new Genoa bridge, designed by architect Renzo Piano, will be inaugurated 28 April in the presence of Prime Minister Conte. The new bridge is under construction after the Morandi highway bridge partially collapsed on 14 August 2018, killing a total of 43 people. EPA-EFE/LUCA ZENNARO
epa08388621 Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (R) greets Liguria Region President Giovanni Toti (L) wearing a protective face mask as he arrives for the inauguration ceremony of the last part of the deck of the new Genoa motorway bridge in Genoa, Italy, 28 April 2020. The new Genoa bridge, designed by architect Renzo Piano, will be inaugurated 28 April in the presence of Prime Minister Conte. The new bridge is under construction after the Morandi highway bridge partially collapsed on 14 August 2018, killing a total of 43 people. EPA-EFE/Luca Zennaro
epa08388619 Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (2-L) wearing a protective face mask arrives for the inauguration ceremony of the last part of the deck of the new Genoa motorway bridge in Genoa, Italy, 28 April 2020. The new Genoa bridge, designed by architect Renzo Piano, will be inaugurated 28 April in the presence of Prime Minister Conte. The new bridge is under construction after the Morandi highway bridge partially collapsed on 14 August 2018, killing a total of 43 people. EPA-EFE/Luca Zennaro
epa08388759 Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte wearing a protective face mask arrives for the inauguration ceremony of the last part of the deck of the new Genoa motorway bridge in Genoa, Italy, 28 April 2020. The new Genoa bridge, designed by architect Renzo Piano, will be inaugurated 28 April in the presence of Prime Minister Conte. The new bridge is under construction after the Morandi highway bridge partially collapsed on 14 August 2018, killing a total of 43 people. EPA-EFE/LUCA ZENNARO
He said “today I can say this band of steel finally links the two parts of the valley in Ponente and Levante.
“There was a band there before which sadly came down on August 14, 2018. We will always remember the 43 victims.” Liguria Governor Giovanni Toti said the new bridge was a “symbol of the Italy that is restarting” after the coronavirus lockdown.
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said the reconstruction showed “Italy is capable of rising from the wreckage”, as it would in the COVID crisis.
He also said that the families of the 43 victims were waiting for justice.
The structural phase of the construction has been completed in record time, in just seven months.
The bridge designed by Genoa native Renzo Piano, will feature sails, yet to be built, that reflect the northwestern port city’s maritime heritage.
ANSA
