Thirty-two people died on January 13, 2021, when the ship carrying 3206 passengers and 1023 crew slammed into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio.
The eight-year-old Costa Cruises vessel was on the first leg of a cruise around the Mediterranean Sea when it deviated from its planned route at Giglio, sailed closer to the island, and struck a rock formation on the sea floor.
Although a six-hour rescue effort brought most of the passengers ashore, 32 people died – 27 passengers, five crew, and later, one member of the salvage team.
A subsequent investigation focused on shortcomings in the procedures followed by Costa Concordia’s crew and the actions of its captain, Francesco Schettino, who left the ship prematurely.
He abandoned some 300 passengers on board the sinking vessel, most of whom were rescued by helicopter or motorboats in the area.
Schettino was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Despite receiving its own share of criticism, Costa Cruises and its parent company, Carnival Corporation, did not face criminal charges.
A decade after the incident, Italy will honour victims with an event culminating in a candlelight vigil at 9:45 pm when the ship hit the reef.
It will also pay tribute to the 4200 survivors and the residents of Giglio who took in passengers and crew, offering clothes and shelter until passengers could return to the mainland.
The Costa Concordia made its final voyage in July 2014 when it was successfully towed away from Giglio and taken to Genoa, where it was dismantled for scrap in an operation completed three years later, in July 2017.
