The president of the committee representing the families of the 43 victims of the Genoa Morandi bridge collapse on Wednesday condemned remarks made by star photographer Oliviero Toscani who reportedly said "who cares if a bridge falls".
"Forty-three innocents dead - they might not count for him
but they were everything to us", said Egle Possetti, president
of the 'Ricordo Vittime Morandi' (Remembering the victims of the
Morandi bridge) committee.
Possetti called Toscani's statements "inappropriate and
confused".
Possetti also said in the statement on Wednesday: "We have
been expecting every day, for nearly 18 months, some new idea -
sometimes someone uses our dead to gain visibility or to
communicate idiocies".
The well-known photographer made the remarks during a RAI
radio program to comment on a controversy sparked by a
photograph portraying the founders of the popular Sardines
grassroots movement together with him and Luciano Benetton,
whose family controls Autostrade per l'Italia.
The company has been accused of being responsible for the
collapse of the Morandi bridge because it allegedly failed to
take the necessary action to prevent the disaster in August
2018.
"Who cares if a bridge collapses, let's stop it", said
Toscani, who has long collaborated with the Benettons and worked
on several ad campaigns for their clothing company.
The photo was snapped at a cultural center called Fabrica set
up by Benetton and directed by Toscani and has sparked criticism
within the Sardines anti-populist movement and beyond with
members accused of letting themselves be exploited by Benetton.
Luciano Benetton's son Alessandro said via Instagram that "I
strongly disassociate myself from Toscani's statements".
Toscani said that his words had been misinterpreted.
"I'm sorry that confused, extrapolated words can make people
think something crazy like me not being interested in the bridge
(disaster) at all," he said via Twitter.
"It's just spitefulness to exploit something like this.
"Like everyone, I am interested in and indignant about that
tragedy, but it is absurd that some journalists ask me for
explanations".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
