Genoa’s new San Giorgio bridge has been inaugurated by Sergio Mattarella, the Italian President, in a moving ceremony.
A critical traffic artery for northern Italy, it connects two sides of the city of Genoa and serves its busy mercantile port, while being part of the E80 European highway linking Italy to France, lying on a main route used by holidaymakers heading to the Ligurian Riviera from cities like Turin and Milan. It was built on the scene of tragedy, replacing an earlier structure, the Morandi bridge, which collapsed on August 14 2018 killing 43 people.
That the replacement has arrived less than two years after the disaster is something of an achievement. Some of the most challenging work was carried out amid Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreak and yet there it is – over a kilometre long and standing 45 meters above the valley, designed so that the bottom of the bridge looks like a ship’s hull. This reference by Renzo Piano, the star architect and Genoa native who designed the new bridge, adding to an architectural portfolio that includes London’s Shard, the Whitney Museum in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, is a homage to Genoa’s industrial roots in shipbuilding.
Built by Italian construction company Salini Impregilo and state-owned shipbuilder Fincantieri, the project cost €200 million, not considering the cost of demolition of the Morandi bridge, which cost another €90 million. Up to 1,000 people were working on the project at the same time.
Amico & Co would like to add its voice to those proud of the result achieved by all involved in the project: in this important moment, the new bridge represents a beacon of hope and pride for all Italy.
