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NINE bridges in Italy have collapsed in five years. How can anyone feel safe driving there? TOBIAS JONES asks if the 39 dead in Genoa are paying the price of years of collusion between Italian officials and criminal gangs
From MailOnline
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It wasn't just the scale of the concrete monstrosity – almost a mile long – that shocked me, but the setting.
Chaotic urban development covered every inch of the valley – dozens of railway lines, blocks of flats, an endless tangle of warehouses and roads. It was far removed from what the Italians call 'a misura d'uomo' – shaped for mankind. Instead, it screamed hubris.
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The bridge pictured weeks before its collapse shows it looking dilapidated with cables hanging from the sides
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Tobias Jones details the sordid history of dodgy deals between Italian local governments and the mafia to provide lucrative buildings contracts, done on the cheap, in exchange for votes
Today, millions of people around the world are familiar with that setting, from news footage and newspaper photographs, now made apocalyptic following the collapse of the bridge on Tuesday, The death toll so far stands at 39.
Unlike other recent Italian disasters – earthquakes and floods - this wasn't an 'act of God' despite initial claims that the bridge had been hit by lightning during a violent storm, It was recognised almost immediately as a man-made disaster.
With public anger high, Genovese magistrates have already opened a manslaughter investigation.
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Although there's no evidence of any criminal involvement in its construction, Italy's First Republic, from 1948-1992, was infamous for the collusion between Christian Democrats and organised crime.
The former were guaranteed votes and lucrative backhanders, in return for awarding public contracts to the latter.
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Photos from Google Maps showed the bridge with what appeared to be spot repairs in the months leading up to the collapse, as it had been under repair since 2016.
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Engineers said they were most likely patches to replace spalling concrete and ensure that reinforcement was covered to avoid long term corrosion
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They likely were unrelated to the collapse, which was caused by much more fundamental structural errors
Sometimes the cost of that collusion only became apparent decades later. In the past five years, nine other bridges have collapsed throughout Italy. It's well-established that appalti (public contracts) are one of the biggest earners for the country's various mafias.
Appalti can involve all sectors of public work, from contracts for cleaning and rubbish collection to medical and construction deals.
During the 'Sack of Palermo' in the late 1950s and early 60s, the name given to the construction boom that resulted in thousands of shoddy apartment buildings, more than a third of all the 4,000 building permits issued in the Sicilian capital were granted to just three bosses of Cosa Nostra, the island's mafia.
Indeed, nationwide, the mafia generally is so intertwined with big construction projects that in 2001 the then Minister for Infrastructure, Pietro Lunardi, shocked law-abiding Italians by declaring 'the problems of the mafia have always been present and always will be… we need to learn to live with this reality'.
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The reality is that appalti are often the motive for murder as people who interfere or ask too many questions in rigged tender processes are gunned down.
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As night fell on the city of Genoa, the massive pile of rubble was illuminated on the skyline in the nearby neighbourhood
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Construction budgets are so large that they provide the perfect opportunity for organised crime to launder money. Sub-contracts then enable crime bosses to determine, in a country with over 30 per cent youth unemployment, who works and who doesn't.
Anti-mafia organisations frequently allege that inspectors of works are often, themselves, subject to intimidation or sweeteners, meaning there's little objectivity in safety assessments.
This is particularly dangerous because of another notorious scam favoured by criminal gangs, the use of 'impoverished cement', deploying a weaker mixture which saves money but can cost lives.
Cement, an ingredient of concrete, is laborious to produce (it requires sourcing of high-quality lime or calcium silicate) and expensive to buy, Much better to 'cut it' with something far less costly, such as sand, to make it go further.
Back in 2009, police were investigating as many as 20 cases of 'impoverished cement', and according to Legambiente, an environmental pressure group, mafia organisations had even printed lists of ingredients for the most convincing mixes.
The list of buildings nationally at risk of collapse because of the false cement runs into the hundreds, and includes hospitals, schools and airports.
Earthquake reconstruction offers some of the most lucrative public contracts with whole suburbs often needing to be reconstructed.
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Many Italians blame organised crime. Planning for the Morandi Bridge, along the route connecting Italy with France, began in the early 1960s, and it opened in 1967 before collapsing 50 years later
Firefighters' gruelling search for Morandi bridge survivors
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After both the Aquila and Amatrice earthquakes in 2009 and 2016 respectively, construction bosses were wiretapped chuckling about the amount of money to be made.
That, coincidentally, is how the late Riccardo Morandi, the architect of the Genoa bridge, began his sorry career.
He moved to the region of Calabria in south-west Italy in the aftermath of the devastating 1908 earthquake which killed more than 100,000 people.
Back then, and for much of the 20th century, there wasn't much meritocracy in Italy, meaning that the most competent were often elbowed out by the best-connected. And Riccardo Morandi, it's clear, was far from competent.
He was also a 'concrete innovator', favouring pre-stressed reinforced concrete that was later shown to be subject to serious corrosion problems, according to professor of construction, Antonio Brencich, from Genoa University.
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Until this week, Morandi's bridge seemed to be an example not of style over substance – one of the stereotypes of Italian design – but of its exact opposite: it was pig-ugly, but it seemed to do the job.
There had been alarm bells if only they'd been noted. Morandi had built similar bridges in Venezuela and Libya.
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Aerial video shows full destruction of collapsed bridge in Genoa
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A large section of the first collapsed in 1964 when it was hit by an oil-tanker, and his Wadi el Kuf bridge in Libya was closed last year because of potential fractures.
Another of his bridges, over the River Arno in central Italy, was demolished in 2011, and his four-kilometre Akragas viaduct in Sicily was closed in 2015.
Such was the pessimism regarding his bridge in Genoa that its collapse was, in many ways, a disaster foretold. In recent years many voices, from the country's motorway authority in 2011 to Professor Brencich in 2016, have warned that it wasn't fit for purpose.
The construction of a parallel bridge, called La Gronda, to relieve the load on the Morandi Bridge, was discussed and shelved.
In April, repair work to retro-fit steel for structural support was commissioned but had yet to start. In the treacle of Italian politics, there was a lot of talk, but not much action.
Part of the problem is the topography of Genoa. An important petrol port, it's the source of much of Italy's forecourt fuel. But within metres of the sea are steep valleys, densely populated but prone to flash flooding.
There's no exit from Genoa other than via vertiginous bridges, all of which are ageing and subject to loads which increase year on year.
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Rescuers work among the rubble of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge in Genoa, northern Italy
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Firefighters pick through the remains of completely flattened cars as they look for survivors on the ground below the bridge where falling pieces smashed everything in their path
To replace them, or even repair them, entails the evacuation and rehousing of thousands of citizens.
Since Tuesday, recriminations have been incessant, One of Italy's ruling parties, the 5 Star Movement, had opposed the new relief bridge as an unnecessary expense because it was a 'fairy tale' to suggest that the Morandi Bridge would collapse.
Ridiculed by Italians for this claim, the party has turned its ire on Autostrade per l'Italia, the motorway authority controlled by the Benetton clothing empire through its holding company Atlantia.
Luigi Di Maio, the deputy prime minister and leader of the 5 Star Movement, has threatened to fine and re-nationalise the company.
Meanwhile, the interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has blamed the European Union's budgetary controls for impeding Italian investment in infrastructure.
It has fallen from a total of 14billion euros per annum in 2007 to just five billion in 2015.
The notion that infrastructure spending might now increase exponentially in the aftermath of the Morandi Bridge disaster may hearten some Italians – but others will despair.
Threatened re-nationalisations will once again make contracts the gift of politicians – just as they were in the post-war building boom.
That must be music to the ears of the country's mafiosi.
Tobias Jones lives in Parma and is the author of The Dark Heart of Italy
The blame game: Who is responsible for the deadly Genoa bridge collapse?
The exact cause of Tuesday's disaster in Genoa, the latest in a string of bridge collapses in Italy, is not yet clear but Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli has sworn that 'those responsible will have to pay.'
The finger has been pointed in several directions, namely Autostrade Per Italia, the private company that operates many of Italy's toll highways.
Italy's deputy premier, Luigi Di Maio accused the Benetton group, which through its £6million holding company Atlantia controls Autostrade Per Italia, of pocketing profits instead of investing money for maintenance.
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No fairy story now: Italian Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio, center right, and Italian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Danilo Toninelli, center left with glasses, speak to the media in front of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge in Genoa, northern Italy
Di Maio's Five Star Movement party, which is governing alongside the League party, vowed to fine highway agency Autostrade 150million euros (£133million) for breach of contract while calling for its bosses to be sacked.
However, Di Maio's own party dismissed fears that the Morandi bridge in Genoa would collapse as a 'fairy story' while opposing repair work as a 'waste of money' as recently as 2013.
A now-deleted statement on the party's website argues against a project to improve Genoa's highways - including the bridge - saying those who backed the plan showed 'an embarrassing lack of critical sense.'
The plan is 'an obsolete idea with exorbitant costs that, in the end, would fall entirely on citizens' who would have to deal with a decade of building works and disruption, the statement says.
Repair work was eventually carried out on the bridge in 2016 but plans to rebuild it were shelved amid fears it would be too disruptive to locals.
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One of the people singled out at responsible for the disaster is one of Atlantia's well-paid and sharply-dressed executives with a reported love of fast cars and tropical beaches.
Paolo Berti, 47, from Milan, is the Operations and Maintenance manager of Atlantia, and therefore directly responsible for maintaining the Morandi Bridge – and the scores of other motorway structures – that span Italy’s mountainous landscape.
The others are Stefano Marigliani, the director of the Genoa stretch of carriage way and Giancarlo Guenzi, Atlantia’s chief financial officer with responsibility of approving – or refusing –maintenance budgets.
Atlantia is a public company listed on the Milan Stock Exchange.
It’s largest single shareholder is Sintonia, an investment vehicle of the Benetton family – known for their international fashion brand. Billionaire Gilberto Benetton, 77, one of the founders of United Colors of Benetton Sisley, is a director of Atlantia.
Several people are now asking what role of the executives – who each earn in excess of £100,00 per year – played in the up-keep of the ruined structure.
Atlantia said on its website today that it has spent 11.4 billion euros (£10.17bn) to improve 923km (574 miles) of Italian motorways, and was waiting for approval from authorities to build a bypass around Genoa.
Local politician have also been accused of failing the people of Genoa, by refusing to allocate funds to carry out vital maintenance work on the crumbling bridge.
In December 2016, Genoan newspaper Il Secolo XIX claimed maintenance of bridges in the area had been lacking funds because authorities 'preferred to allocate more funds to new works'.
The paper accused officials in the Liguria region of only making important restorations when issues with bridges had become obvious.
In addition, some have sought to blame the local Mafia, citing urban legends of crime bosses selling bad concrete with not enough cement, and known incidents of the Mafia infiltrated the Italian construction industry.
The 39 lives snuffed out when Genoa's Morandi bridge came down
The Morandi bridge in Genoa collapsed around 11.30am on Tuesday while it was packed with commuters, truck drivers and holidaymakers all making their way through the busy port city.
The dead come from all walks of life and all corners of the globe, united by nothing other than the fact that they happened to be on the same 650ft section of bridge at the fateful moment it came crashing down.
Four friends on a holiday road trip
Matteo Bentornati, a freelancer videographer, Giovanni Battiloro, Gerardo Esposito, and Antonio Stanzione were due to fly to France but chose to drive instead at the last minute.
The foursome were due to spend their holidays shuttling between Nice and Barcelona but never made it over the border from their home county.
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Gerardo Esposito was among four Italian men in their 20s driving on holiday to Nice in France when the Morandi bridge collapsed underneath them on Tuesday, leaving them dead
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A family of four wiped out days after their honeymoon
Andrea Vittone, 49, his wife Claudia Possetti, 48, and their children Manuele and Camilla Bellasio, aged 16 and 12 were all in their black Volkswagen Golf together when it plummeted with the bridge.
The couple married just three weeks ago and were taking a family holiday to the Sea of Sestri Levante from Pinerolo, since they had a few days of holiday left after their honeymoon in California.
They left early to make the 125-mile journey to their seaside spot, putting them on the bridge at exactly the wrong moment.
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Andrea Vittone, 49, his wife Claudia Possetti, 48, and their children Manuele and Camilla Bellasio, aged 16 and 12 were all in their black Volkswagen Golf together when it plummeted with the bridge
Young family on the way to a beach holiday
Roberto Robbiano, his wife Ersilia Piccinino, and their eight-year-old son Samuel, who was one of the first to be found in the rubble, all died when their car fell 150ft.
Mr Robbiano, a computer technician, married his wife in 2014 and frequently posted photos to his Facebook of his young son and the black-and-white family cat on adventures at home and on holiday.
He posted that they were excited to head to the seaside, their car laden with beach toys for Samuel to play with in the sand. Their crushed car was found under the remains of a concrete beam, along with the boy's Spiderman ball.
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Roberto Robbiano, his wife Ersilia Piccinino, and their eight-year-old son Samuel, who was one of the first to be found in the rubble, all died when their car fell 150ft
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Their car fell 150ft as the a huge 260ft section of the 50-year-old Morandi bridge gave way about 11.30am on Tuesday
Engaged medical professionals soon to be married
Alberto Fanfani, 32, an anesthesiologist, and his fiancee Marta Danisi, 29, a nurse, were also pulled from the rubble. The pair were engaged and due to marry next year.
The Mayor of Sant'Agata di Militello, Bruno Mancuso, announced a day of mourning on Facebook.
'I am shocked and saddened by the terrible tragedy that struck one of our fellow citizens, the young Marta Danisi, who died as a result of the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa,' he wrote.
'The same fate befell her boyfriend, who was in the car with her. On behalf of the whole community, I express my deepest sorrow and closeness to her family members for this great pain, and the unfillable emptiness that has struck them.'
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Alberto Fanfani, 32, an anesthesiologist who was originally from Florence, was also killed in the crash along with his fiancee Marta Danisi, 29, a nurse. The pair were due to be married next year
Three workers crushed to death as they toiled below
Bruno Casagrande and Mirko Vicini, who both worked for environment agency Amiu were both crushed to death, as was Alessandro Campora, 46, who was employed by private firm Aster.
'The damages are invaluable but nothing compared to the pain for the lives lost,' Amiu director Tiziana Merlino said. The firm shut down work in the area indefinitely.
Mr Casagrande and Mr Vicini were looking forward to a better future after a period of unemployment was ended by recent seasonal contracts with the firm.
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Mirko Vicini (picutred), an environment company worker, was underneath the bridge alongside colleague Bruno Casagrande when the bridge came down, killing both of them
Young lovers on a romantic getaway
Stella Boccia, 24, was buried in the wreckage along with Dominican boyfriend Carlos Jesus Truillo, 23, a waiter.
'We apologise to our customers, but we will be closed for mourning. Unfortunately a piece of our hearts remains under the rubble of the Genoa bridge,' Ms Boccia's mother wrote upon hearing the news.
The pair had not been dating long, meeting by working on the same street, Ms Boccia at a restaurant and Mr Truillo at a Foot Locker store yards away.
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Stella Boccia, 24, was also killed alongside her Dominican boyfriend Carlos, 23, who was a waiter. The pair were returning from a vacation when they died
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French trio on their way to Sardinia
A young French couple - Nathan Gusman, 20, and Melissa Artus, 22 - who were driving from Montpellier in France to Sardinia on a route that took them across the bridge were killed along with Axelle Nemati Alizè Plaze, also 20.
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Nathan Gusman, 20, and Melissa Artus, 22, both tourists from France, were on a road trip from Montpellier to Sardinia alongside friend Nemati Alizè Plaze, 20, when they died. The trio were following a route which took them across the bridge
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Axelle Nemati Alizè Plaze, 20, from France, was riding in the car with her friends when it plunged into the riverbed
A woman who loved to celebrate life
Elisa Bozzo, 34, used her Facebook page to write 'how can I not celebrate life!' not long before the tragedy, but on Tuesday desperate friends were using the same site to appeal for her whereabouts.
The search was in vain, however, as she was pronounced dead on Wednesday morning.
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Chileans who made a new life for themselves in Italy
Also pulled from the rubble were the remains of Juan Carlos Pastenes, 64, a Chilean chef who had lived in Italy for three decades, along with his wife Nora Rivera.
Juan Figueroa, 60, a fellow Chilean, who had lived in Italy for at least two decades, was also killed.
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Chef Juan Carlos Pastenes, 64 (left) and his wife Nora Rivera (right), who are originally from Chile but had lived in Italy for three decades, also perished alongside fellow Chilean Juan Figueroa, 60, who had also spent decades living in Italy
Killed while driving for work
Marian Rosca, a 36-year-old truck driver from Romania, was living and working in France to save up money to get married and build a house for his new wife back home when he died.
Marius Djerri, 22, and Edy Bokrina, from Albania, were in a van on their way to a cleaning job when they perished.
Luigi Matti Altadonna, 35, a father-of-four who sold computer games, was completing his last delivery of the morning when he plunged to his death inside his work van.
'The municipal administration joins the pain of Giovanni, a model citizen and an exemplary volunteer of the Civil Protection Section of Borghetto, for the loss of his dear nephew in the terrible tragedy of Genoa'. Mayor Borghettino Giancarlo Canepa said.
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Luigi Matti Altadonna, 35, a father-of-four who sold computer games, was completing his last delivery of the morning when he plunged to his death inside his work van
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Marian Rosca, a 36-year-old lorry driver from Romania, was living and working in France to save up money to get married and build a house for his new wife back home when he was killed
Mr Altadonna was driving his work van over the bridge when it collapsed under him. Rescuers scrambled to free him from the wreckage but he could not be saved.
Colleague Gianluca Ardini, 29, who was riding in the van with him and is due to become a father next month, escaped with only a dislocated shoulder after clinging on to metal wires.
Gennaro Sarnataro, 43, a father-of-two and truck driver, was also killed on the bridge as he returned from a fruit and vegetable delivery to France.
'He was a great worker, a decent person,' his family said as they identified his body at the morgue.
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Marius Djerri, 22 (left), a football player from Albania, was also killed in the collapse alongside colleague Edy Bokrina. The pair were traveling in a work van to complete a cleaning job when they died
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Gennaro Sarnataro, 43, a father-of-two and truck driver, was also named among those killed on the bridge
Football player who leaves behind a young son
Amateur football player Andrea Cerulli, the father of a young son, was killed on his way to work, according to friends who flooded social media with tributes after finding out about his death.
'Genoa Club Portuali Voltri rallying around Andrea's family, our associate, our friend, our colleague, victim of Ponte Morandi's tragedy,' his football club wrote on its Facebook page.
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Amateur football player Andrea Cerulli, the father of a young son, was killed on his way to work, according to friends who flooded social media with tributes after finding out about his death
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'Genoa Club Portuali Voltri rallying around Andrea's family, our associate, our friend, our colleague, victim of Ponte Morandi's tragedy,' his football club wrote on its Facebook page
Motorbike champion killed on the road
Giorgio Donaggio, a motorbike champion, father-of-three, and boat-builder, was mourned by Italian celebrity cyclist and TV presenter Vittorio Brumotti, who credited his 'great friend' with helping to launch his career.
'My great friend Giorgio Donaggio, himself a motorcycle trial champion, was lost in the Genoa bridge disaster. He's been my idol since I was a child and it's also thanks to him that I am what I am today. RIP Super George,' he wrote.
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A doctor's son who loved to gaze at the stars
Alessandro Robotti, 50, was the son of a doctor and until recently manager of the municipal pharmacy of Arquata, and one of the founders of a group of astronomy enthusiasts.
'Now you can see your beloved stars up close,' a tribute on his Facebook page read.
His wife Giovanna Bottaro, 43, who worked for Capriata D'Orba, is still missing but presumed dead.
From MailOnline
- Tobias Jones details the sordid history of dodgy deals between Italian local governments and the mafia
- Criminals got lucrative government contracts in exchange for votes, which they did on the cheap
- Mafia would often cut corners in making concrete, such as mixing it with sand to make it go further,
- This led to thousands of poorly constructed buildings and bridges across the country
- Jones also argues the Geona bridge's designer, Riccardo Morandi, was not as competent as his reputation
ADVERTISEMENT
It wasn't just the scale of the concrete monstrosity – almost a mile long – that shocked me, but the setting.
Chaotic urban development covered every inch of the valley – dozens of railway lines, blocks of flats, an endless tangle of warehouses and roads. It was far removed from what the Italians call 'a misura d'uomo' – shaped for mankind. Instead, it screamed hubris.
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The bridge pictured weeks before its collapse shows it looking dilapidated with cables hanging from the sides
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Tobias Jones details the sordid history of dodgy deals between Italian local governments and the mafia to provide lucrative buildings contracts, done on the cheap, in exchange for votes
Today, millions of people around the world are familiar with that setting, from news footage and newspaper photographs, now made apocalyptic following the collapse of the bridge on Tuesday, The death toll so far stands at 39.
Unlike other recent Italian disasters – earthquakes and floods - this wasn't an 'act of God' despite initial claims that the bridge had been hit by lightning during a violent storm, It was recognised almost immediately as a man-made disaster.
With public anger high, Genovese magistrates have already opened a manslaughter investigation.
Share this article
- Shocking photo shows Genoa bridge 'crumbling' and 'caving in' a few weeks before it collapsed killing at least 39 people as victims' furious families and locals demand 'the guilty must pay'
- 'I saw the road collapsing with all the cars in front of me': Driver of green truck that came perilously close to the edge in Genoa bridge disaster tells of miraculous escape as survivors who plunged 150ft speak of the horror
- 'We are told we cannot spend money': Italy's firebrand Deputy Prime Minister Salvini blames Genoa bridge collapse on EU budget constraints as he vows to make those responsible 'pay for everything'
Although there's no evidence of any criminal involvement in its construction, Italy's First Republic, from 1948-1992, was infamous for the collusion between Christian Democrats and organised crime.
The former were guaranteed votes and lucrative backhanders, in return for awarding public contracts to the latter.
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Photos from Google Maps showed the bridge with what appeared to be spot repairs in the months leading up to the collapse, as it had been under repair since 2016.
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Engineers said they were most likely patches to replace spalling concrete and ensure that reinforcement was covered to avoid long term corrosion
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They likely were unrelated to the collapse, which was caused by much more fundamental structural errors
Sometimes the cost of that collusion only became apparent decades later. In the past five years, nine other bridges have collapsed throughout Italy. It's well-established that appalti (public contracts) are one of the biggest earners for the country's various mafias.
Appalti can involve all sectors of public work, from contracts for cleaning and rubbish collection to medical and construction deals.
During the 'Sack of Palermo' in the late 1950s and early 60s, the name given to the construction boom that resulted in thousands of shoddy apartment buildings, more than a third of all the 4,000 building permits issued in the Sicilian capital were granted to just three bosses of Cosa Nostra, the island's mafia.
Indeed, nationwide, the mafia generally is so intertwined with big construction projects that in 2001 the then Minister for Infrastructure, Pietro Lunardi, shocked law-abiding Italians by declaring 'the problems of the mafia have always been present and always will be… we need to learn to live with this reality'.
ADVERTISEMENT
The reality is that appalti are often the motive for murder as people who interfere or ask too many questions in rigged tender processes are gunned down.
+42
As night fell on the city of Genoa, the massive pile of rubble was illuminated on the skyline in the nearby neighbourhood
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Construction budgets are so large that they provide the perfect opportunity for organised crime to launder money. Sub-contracts then enable crime bosses to determine, in a country with over 30 per cent youth unemployment, who works and who doesn't.
Anti-mafia organisations frequently allege that inspectors of works are often, themselves, subject to intimidation or sweeteners, meaning there's little objectivity in safety assessments.
This is particularly dangerous because of another notorious scam favoured by criminal gangs, the use of 'impoverished cement', deploying a weaker mixture which saves money but can cost lives.
Cement, an ingredient of concrete, is laborious to produce (it requires sourcing of high-quality lime or calcium silicate) and expensive to buy, Much better to 'cut it' with something far less costly, such as sand, to make it go further.
Back in 2009, police were investigating as many as 20 cases of 'impoverished cement', and according to Legambiente, an environmental pressure group, mafia organisations had even printed lists of ingredients for the most convincing mixes.
The list of buildings nationally at risk of collapse because of the false cement runs into the hundreds, and includes hospitals, schools and airports.
Earthquake reconstruction offers some of the most lucrative public contracts with whole suburbs often needing to be reconstructed.
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Many Italians blame organised crime. Planning for the Morandi Bridge, along the route connecting Italy with France, began in the early 1960s, and it opened in 1967 before collapsing 50 years later
Firefighters' gruelling search for Morandi bridge survivors
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After both the Aquila and Amatrice earthquakes in 2009 and 2016 respectively, construction bosses were wiretapped chuckling about the amount of money to be made.
That, coincidentally, is how the late Riccardo Morandi, the architect of the Genoa bridge, began his sorry career.
He moved to the region of Calabria in south-west Italy in the aftermath of the devastating 1908 earthquake which killed more than 100,000 people.
Back then, and for much of the 20th century, there wasn't much meritocracy in Italy, meaning that the most competent were often elbowed out by the best-connected. And Riccardo Morandi, it's clear, was far from competent.
He was also a 'concrete innovator', favouring pre-stressed reinforced concrete that was later shown to be subject to serious corrosion problems, according to professor of construction, Antonio Brencich, from Genoa University.
ADVERTISEMENT
Until this week, Morandi's bridge seemed to be an example not of style over substance – one of the stereotypes of Italian design – but of its exact opposite: it was pig-ugly, but it seemed to do the job.
There had been alarm bells if only they'd been noted. Morandi had built similar bridges in Venezuela and Libya.
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Aerial video shows full destruction of collapsed bridge in Genoa
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A large section of the first collapsed in 1964 when it was hit by an oil-tanker, and his Wadi el Kuf bridge in Libya was closed last year because of potential fractures.
Another of his bridges, over the River Arno in central Italy, was demolished in 2011, and his four-kilometre Akragas viaduct in Sicily was closed in 2015.
Such was the pessimism regarding his bridge in Genoa that its collapse was, in many ways, a disaster foretold. In recent years many voices, from the country's motorway authority in 2011 to Professor Brencich in 2016, have warned that it wasn't fit for purpose.
The construction of a parallel bridge, called La Gronda, to relieve the load on the Morandi Bridge, was discussed and shelved.
In April, repair work to retro-fit steel for structural support was commissioned but had yet to start. In the treacle of Italian politics, there was a lot of talk, but not much action.
Part of the problem is the topography of Genoa. An important petrol port, it's the source of much of Italy's forecourt fuel. But within metres of the sea are steep valleys, densely populated but prone to flash flooding.
There's no exit from Genoa other than via vertiginous bridges, all of which are ageing and subject to loads which increase year on year.
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Rescuers work among the rubble of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge in Genoa, northern Italy
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Firefighters pick through the remains of completely flattened cars as they look for survivors on the ground below the bridge where falling pieces smashed everything in their path
To replace them, or even repair them, entails the evacuation and rehousing of thousands of citizens.
Since Tuesday, recriminations have been incessant, One of Italy's ruling parties, the 5 Star Movement, had opposed the new relief bridge as an unnecessary expense because it was a 'fairy tale' to suggest that the Morandi Bridge would collapse.
Ridiculed by Italians for this claim, the party has turned its ire on Autostrade per l'Italia, the motorway authority controlled by the Benetton clothing empire through its holding company Atlantia.
Luigi Di Maio, the deputy prime minister and leader of the 5 Star Movement, has threatened to fine and re-nationalise the company.
Meanwhile, the interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has blamed the European Union's budgetary controls for impeding Italian investment in infrastructure.
It has fallen from a total of 14billion euros per annum in 2007 to just five billion in 2015.
The notion that infrastructure spending might now increase exponentially in the aftermath of the Morandi Bridge disaster may hearten some Italians – but others will despair.
Threatened re-nationalisations will once again make contracts the gift of politicians – just as they were in the post-war building boom.
That must be music to the ears of the country's mafiosi.
Tobias Jones lives in Parma and is the author of The Dark Heart of Italy
The blame game: Who is responsible for the deadly Genoa bridge collapse?
The exact cause of Tuesday's disaster in Genoa, the latest in a string of bridge collapses in Italy, is not yet clear but Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli has sworn that 'those responsible will have to pay.'
The finger has been pointed in several directions, namely Autostrade Per Italia, the private company that operates many of Italy's toll highways.
Italy's deputy premier, Luigi Di Maio accused the Benetton group, which through its £6million holding company Atlantia controls Autostrade Per Italia, of pocketing profits instead of investing money for maintenance.
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No fairy story now: Italian Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio, center right, and Italian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Danilo Toninelli, center left with glasses, speak to the media in front of the collapsed Morandi highway bridge in Genoa, northern Italy
Di Maio's Five Star Movement party, which is governing alongside the League party, vowed to fine highway agency Autostrade 150million euros (£133million) for breach of contract while calling for its bosses to be sacked.
However, Di Maio's own party dismissed fears that the Morandi bridge in Genoa would collapse as a 'fairy story' while opposing repair work as a 'waste of money' as recently as 2013.
A now-deleted statement on the party's website argues against a project to improve Genoa's highways - including the bridge - saying those who backed the plan showed 'an embarrassing lack of critical sense.'
The plan is 'an obsolete idea with exorbitant costs that, in the end, would fall entirely on citizens' who would have to deal with a decade of building works and disruption, the statement says.
Repair work was eventually carried out on the bridge in 2016 but plans to rebuild it were shelved amid fears it would be too disruptive to locals.
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One of the people singled out at responsible for the disaster is one of Atlantia's well-paid and sharply-dressed executives with a reported love of fast cars and tropical beaches.
Paolo Berti, 47, from Milan, is the Operations and Maintenance manager of Atlantia, and therefore directly responsible for maintaining the Morandi Bridge – and the scores of other motorway structures – that span Italy’s mountainous landscape.
The others are Stefano Marigliani, the director of the Genoa stretch of carriage way and Giancarlo Guenzi, Atlantia’s chief financial officer with responsibility of approving – or refusing –maintenance budgets.
Atlantia is a public company listed on the Milan Stock Exchange.
It’s largest single shareholder is Sintonia, an investment vehicle of the Benetton family – known for their international fashion brand. Billionaire Gilberto Benetton, 77, one of the founders of United Colors of Benetton Sisley, is a director of Atlantia.
Several people are now asking what role of the executives – who each earn in excess of £100,00 per year – played in the up-keep of the ruined structure.
Atlantia said on its website today that it has spent 11.4 billion euros (£10.17bn) to improve 923km (574 miles) of Italian motorways, and was waiting for approval from authorities to build a bypass around Genoa.
Local politician have also been accused of failing the people of Genoa, by refusing to allocate funds to carry out vital maintenance work on the crumbling bridge.
In December 2016, Genoan newspaper Il Secolo XIX claimed maintenance of bridges in the area had been lacking funds because authorities 'preferred to allocate more funds to new works'.
The paper accused officials in the Liguria region of only making important restorations when issues with bridges had become obvious.
In addition, some have sought to blame the local Mafia, citing urban legends of crime bosses selling bad concrete with not enough cement, and known incidents of the Mafia infiltrated the Italian construction industry.
The 39 lives snuffed out when Genoa's Morandi bridge came down
The Morandi bridge in Genoa collapsed around 11.30am on Tuesday while it was packed with commuters, truck drivers and holidaymakers all making their way through the busy port city.
The dead come from all walks of life and all corners of the globe, united by nothing other than the fact that they happened to be on the same 650ft section of bridge at the fateful moment it came crashing down.
Four friends on a holiday road trip
Matteo Bentornati, a freelancer videographer, Giovanni Battiloro, Gerardo Esposito, and Antonio Stanzione were due to fly to France but chose to drive instead at the last minute.
The foursome were due to spend their holidays shuttling between Nice and Barcelona but never made it over the border from their home county.
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Gerardo Esposito was among four Italian men in their 20s driving on holiday to Nice in France when the Morandi bridge collapsed underneath them on Tuesday, leaving them dead
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A family of four wiped out days after their honeymoon
Andrea Vittone, 49, his wife Claudia Possetti, 48, and their children Manuele and Camilla Bellasio, aged 16 and 12 were all in their black Volkswagen Golf together when it plummeted with the bridge.
The couple married just three weeks ago and were taking a family holiday to the Sea of Sestri Levante from Pinerolo, since they had a few days of holiday left after their honeymoon in California.
They left early to make the 125-mile journey to their seaside spot, putting them on the bridge at exactly the wrong moment.
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Andrea Vittone, 49, his wife Claudia Possetti, 48, and their children Manuele and Camilla Bellasio, aged 16 and 12 were all in their black Volkswagen Golf together when it plummeted with the bridge
Young family on the way to a beach holiday
Roberto Robbiano, his wife Ersilia Piccinino, and their eight-year-old son Samuel, who was one of the first to be found in the rubble, all died when their car fell 150ft.
Mr Robbiano, a computer technician, married his wife in 2014 and frequently posted photos to his Facebook of his young son and the black-and-white family cat on adventures at home and on holiday.
He posted that they were excited to head to the seaside, their car laden with beach toys for Samuel to play with in the sand. Their crushed car was found under the remains of a concrete beam, along with the boy's Spiderman ball.
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Roberto Robbiano, his wife Ersilia Piccinino, and their eight-year-old son Samuel, who was one of the first to be found in the rubble, all died when their car fell 150ft
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Their car fell 150ft as the a huge 260ft section of the 50-year-old Morandi bridge gave way about 11.30am on Tuesday
Engaged medical professionals soon to be married
Alberto Fanfani, 32, an anesthesiologist, and his fiancee Marta Danisi, 29, a nurse, were also pulled from the rubble. The pair were engaged and due to marry next year.
The Mayor of Sant'Agata di Militello, Bruno Mancuso, announced a day of mourning on Facebook.
'I am shocked and saddened by the terrible tragedy that struck one of our fellow citizens, the young Marta Danisi, who died as a result of the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa,' he wrote.
'The same fate befell her boyfriend, who was in the car with her. On behalf of the whole community, I express my deepest sorrow and closeness to her family members for this great pain, and the unfillable emptiness that has struck them.'
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Alberto Fanfani, 32, an anesthesiologist who was originally from Florence, was also killed in the crash along with his fiancee Marta Danisi, 29, a nurse. The pair were due to be married next year
Three workers crushed to death as they toiled below
Bruno Casagrande and Mirko Vicini, who both worked for environment agency Amiu were both crushed to death, as was Alessandro Campora, 46, who was employed by private firm Aster.
'The damages are invaluable but nothing compared to the pain for the lives lost,' Amiu director Tiziana Merlino said. The firm shut down work in the area indefinitely.
Mr Casagrande and Mr Vicini were looking forward to a better future after a period of unemployment was ended by recent seasonal contracts with the firm.
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Mirko Vicini (picutred), an environment company worker, was underneath the bridge alongside colleague Bruno Casagrande when the bridge came down, killing both of them
Young lovers on a romantic getaway
Stella Boccia, 24, was buried in the wreckage along with Dominican boyfriend Carlos Jesus Truillo, 23, a waiter.
'We apologise to our customers, but we will be closed for mourning. Unfortunately a piece of our hearts remains under the rubble of the Genoa bridge,' Ms Boccia's mother wrote upon hearing the news.
The pair had not been dating long, meeting by working on the same street, Ms Boccia at a restaurant and Mr Truillo at a Foot Locker store yards away.
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Stella Boccia, 24, was also killed alongside her Dominican boyfriend Carlos, 23, who was a waiter. The pair were returning from a vacation when they died
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French trio on their way to Sardinia
A young French couple - Nathan Gusman, 20, and Melissa Artus, 22 - who were driving from Montpellier in France to Sardinia on a route that took them across the bridge were killed along with Axelle Nemati Alizè Plaze, also 20.
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Nathan Gusman, 20, and Melissa Artus, 22, both tourists from France, were on a road trip from Montpellier to Sardinia alongside friend Nemati Alizè Plaze, 20, when they died. The trio were following a route which took them across the bridge
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Axelle Nemati Alizè Plaze, 20, from France, was riding in the car with her friends when it plunged into the riverbed
A woman who loved to celebrate life
Elisa Bozzo, 34, used her Facebook page to write 'how can I not celebrate life!' not long before the tragedy, but on Tuesday desperate friends were using the same site to appeal for her whereabouts.
The search was in vain, however, as she was pronounced dead on Wednesday morning.
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Chileans who made a new life for themselves in Italy
Also pulled from the rubble were the remains of Juan Carlos Pastenes, 64, a Chilean chef who had lived in Italy for three decades, along with his wife Nora Rivera.
Juan Figueroa, 60, a fellow Chilean, who had lived in Italy for at least two decades, was also killed.
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Chef Juan Carlos Pastenes, 64 (left) and his wife Nora Rivera (right), who are originally from Chile but had lived in Italy for three decades, also perished alongside fellow Chilean Juan Figueroa, 60, who had also spent decades living in Italy
Killed while driving for work
Marian Rosca, a 36-year-old truck driver from Romania, was living and working in France to save up money to get married and build a house for his new wife back home when he died.
Marius Djerri, 22, and Edy Bokrina, from Albania, were in a van on their way to a cleaning job when they perished.
Luigi Matti Altadonna, 35, a father-of-four who sold computer games, was completing his last delivery of the morning when he plunged to his death inside his work van.
'The municipal administration joins the pain of Giovanni, a model citizen and an exemplary volunteer of the Civil Protection Section of Borghetto, for the loss of his dear nephew in the terrible tragedy of Genoa'. Mayor Borghettino Giancarlo Canepa said.
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Luigi Matti Altadonna, 35, a father-of-four who sold computer games, was completing his last delivery of the morning when he plunged to his death inside his work van
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Marian Rosca, a 36-year-old lorry driver from Romania, was living and working in France to save up money to get married and build a house for his new wife back home when he was killed
Mr Altadonna was driving his work van over the bridge when it collapsed under him. Rescuers scrambled to free him from the wreckage but he could not be saved.
Colleague Gianluca Ardini, 29, who was riding in the van with him and is due to become a father next month, escaped with only a dislocated shoulder after clinging on to metal wires.
Gennaro Sarnataro, 43, a father-of-two and truck driver, was also killed on the bridge as he returned from a fruit and vegetable delivery to France.
'He was a great worker, a decent person,' his family said as they identified his body at the morgue.
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Marius Djerri, 22 (left), a football player from Albania, was also killed in the collapse alongside colleague Edy Bokrina. The pair were traveling in a work van to complete a cleaning job when they died
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Gennaro Sarnataro, 43, a father-of-two and truck driver, was also named among those killed on the bridge
Football player who leaves behind a young son
Amateur football player Andrea Cerulli, the father of a young son, was killed on his way to work, according to friends who flooded social media with tributes after finding out about his death.
'Genoa Club Portuali Voltri rallying around Andrea's family, our associate, our friend, our colleague, victim of Ponte Morandi's tragedy,' his football club wrote on its Facebook page.
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Amateur football player Andrea Cerulli, the father of a young son, was killed on his way to work, according to friends who flooded social media with tributes after finding out about his death
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'Genoa Club Portuali Voltri rallying around Andrea's family, our associate, our friend, our colleague, victim of Ponte Morandi's tragedy,' his football club wrote on its Facebook page
Motorbike champion killed on the road
Giorgio Donaggio, a motorbike champion, father-of-three, and boat-builder, was mourned by Italian celebrity cyclist and TV presenter Vittorio Brumotti, who credited his 'great friend' with helping to launch his career.
'My great friend Giorgio Donaggio, himself a motorcycle trial champion, was lost in the Genoa bridge disaster. He's been my idol since I was a child and it's also thanks to him that I am what I am today. RIP Super George,' he wrote.
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A doctor's son who loved to gaze at the stars
Alessandro Robotti, 50, was the son of a doctor and until recently manager of the municipal pharmacy of Arquata, and one of the founders of a group of astronomy enthusiasts.
'Now you can see your beloved stars up close,' a tribute on his Facebook page read.
His wife Giovanna Bottaro, 43, who worked for Capriata D'Orba, is still missing but presumed dead.
