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".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
