The permanently ongoing Italian opera drama has another act. Carlo Fuortes, who was appointed as General Manager of the Maggio Musicale in Florence last week has now been sentenced to one year and four months for the death of Oberdan Varani, the worker who fell at the Opera House of Rome when Fuortes was at the helm of the theatre, in 2017.
The 50-year-old worker died a few days after falling from a ladder while performing an extraordinary cleaning of the pit.
Along with Fuortes, superintendent at the time of the events at the facility, the owner of the company where the 50-year-old worked was also convicted.
The judges also ordered, in favor of the victim’s family members, a provisional award of 220,000 euros for violation of occupational safety regulations. Prosecutors had urged a two-year sentence.
Fuortes’ attorney Alessandro Gamberini said: « This is a disconcerting sentence for which we will appeal. A sentence that condemns Fuortes for a death at work but not in dependence of a risk at work. A death that occurred because the worker slipped off the first step of the ladder and had a blood alcohol level of 1.3 g/l. The reason he slipped is related to his blood alcohol level. I don’t know how the Superintendent of the Theater can be called into question in this case. »
The plaintiff, however, insists that the safety measures were disregarded.
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino: Fuortes appointed as Superintendent
