Experts had warned for years that the bridge, built from 1963 to 1967, was in poor shape and potentially dangerous, and various theories about the collapse have been aired this week. But whether the failure was caused by design flaws, poor maintenance, substandard materials, earth movement or some combination of factors, it could be a long time before investigators provide definitive answers and make it possible to draw lessons from the tragedy.

But it is clear that the debate on how to relieve the bridge of distressingly heavy traffic spanned decades and entangled many city administrations in ideas, projects, problems raising funds and problems finding the political will at all levels of government to carry out a solution.

The result is that Genoa, a fragile piece of urbanity squeezed between the mountains and the sea, has for years been physically paralyzed by its own psychic paralysis when it comes to making major strategic decisions.

That wasn’t always the case.

At one time, Genoa and cities all over Italy were doing major construction projects. In the early 1900s, the hill that descended all the way to Genoa’s historic lighthouse was excavated, making room for a coastal railway and further expansion. The first modern piers were built during the Fascist years, when a major state-run steel factory was also set up on the city’s western coast. After World War II, the number of piers and the port’s capacity were enlarged to help Italy’s reconstruction efforts.