One Year After Landslide, Justice Investigates Road Negligence

On February 3rd, ’99, 10,000 cubic meters of rock fell onto the Gardesana road, killing Gino Avancini, a 79-year-old retiree from Arco di Trento who was traveling between Riva and Limone. A year has passed: the anniversary calls for a review.

Regarding traffic flow, the problem was resolved in record time, much to the relief of the tourist entrepreneurs of Limone and the Alto Garda Bresciano. Ninety-eight days after the landslide, on May 12th, the road was reopened to traffic.

On the other hand, the course of justice has proceeded at a much slower pace, with Avancini’s relatives awaiting answers concerning possible responsibilities. The Procura della Repubblica di Rovereto is handling the case.

Investigations and Judicial Responsibilities

Within the extensive case file of the Trentino deputy prosecutor Fabio Biasi, among numerous geological reports, there is also a complaint filed against l’Anas and the Provincia autonoma di Trento by the legal representative of the victim’s four children, lawyer Gloria Canestrini of Rovereto.

The legal hypotheses for crimes considered are homicide and involuntary disaster. Very serious accusations against l’Anas and the Provincia autonoma di Trento, whom the victim’s family attributes responsibility for neglect and abandonment, as the old Ponale road—located just upstream of the Gardesana and also swept away by the February 3rd landslide—was left unmaintained for years.

The judiciary will need to determine who was responsible for the maintenance of the road, and whether that person ordered or failed to order interventions on that portion of the mountainous slope, which is traditionally and notoriously prone to landslides, and which collapsed onto the Gardesana a year ago, killing a person.