President Sergio Mattarella and
Premier Giuseppe Conte on Monday took part in the ceremony for
the inauguration of Genoa's new viaduct, two years after its
predecessor, the Morandi Bridge, collapsed in a disaster that
claimed 43 lives.
The national anthem was played, the names of the victims were
read out and three minutes of silence were observed in mourning.
Genoa Mayor Marco Bucci, who was also the extraordinary
commissioner for the construction of the new bridge, said in a
speech that a disaster of this kind must never happen again
Liguria Governor Giovanni Toti and the bridge's designer,
architect Renzo Piano, also addressed the ceremony.
Rainy conditions gave life to a rainbow just before the ceremony
started
It was also raining hard on the day the Morandi bridge
collapsed.
The committee representing the families of the 43 people who
died when the Morandi bridge collapsed did not attend the
inauguration.
They did, however, have a private meeting with Mattarella
beforehand.
"I wanted to meet you before the bridge ceremony to publicly and
clearly stress that the wound does not heal, the pain is not
forgotten and solidarity must not stop in any way," Mattarella
said
Conte has described the rapidly constructed viaduct as "a symbol
of the new Italy that is getting back up".
Toti stressed that Monday's ceremony is "not a celebration - our
thoughts should de devoted to the dead".
The new structure has been named the Genoa San Giorgio Bridge.
Piano, a Genoa native, created the design for the new bridge for
free as a gift to the city.
It features sail-like structures, to reflect the northwestern
port city's rich maritime heritage.
The deadly collapse of the Morandi Bridge on August 14 2018 has
led to a deal whereby the Benetton group will gradually exit
Italian motorway management.
Benetton's Atlantia holding company will cut its stake in
motorway company Autostrade per l'Italia (ASPI) to zero over the
coming year.
Government bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) will gradually
build up a 51% stake in ASPI.
ASPI will thus become a publicly controlled company, quoted on
the Milan bourse.
The ruling anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) had vowed to
eject clothing icons the Benettons from ASPI, which it blamed
for an alleged lack of maintenance that allegedly led to the
bridge's collapse.
The government had threatened to strip ASPI of its motorway
concessions and has said that threat remains valid if the
Benetton family backtracks on the deal.
Victims' relatives have criticised the decision to allow ASPI to
manage the new bridge.
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