By Jonathan Samuels in Grosseto
The captain of the stricken Costa Concordia has told his trial "a part of me died" on the night of the disaster - as judges retire to consider their verdicts.
Francesco Schettino wept in court as he addressed three judges who could decide his fate at 6pm this evening (7pm local time).
He claimed the blame for the disaster that killed 32 people lay with his employer Costa Cruises and said the media had portrayed him unfairly.
He said: "In this court a lot of words have been said to destroy my dignity. I have spent the last three years in a media meat grinder.
"It is difficult to call what I have been living through a life.
"All the responsibility has been loaded on to me with no respect for the truth or for the memory of the victims.
"I want to say that on 16 January a part of me died."
He was unable to finish his statement, breaking into loud sobs before declaring "basta" (enough) and slumping back into his seat.
Schettino is charged with manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and leaving the liner ahead of some of the passengers when it hit rocks and capsized off the island of Giglio in 2012.
The trial has heard there is a "tsunami" of evidence against the cruise ship's former commander, as prosecutors called for him to be sent to prison for 26 years.
Ian Donoff and his wife were among the 37 British passengers and crew on board during the chaotic and delayed night time evacuation.
Mr Donoff told Sky News: "We said our prayers together and we said it was so unfair that we were married only 11 days and this would be happening to us.
"Everything passes through your mind and I said 'I don't think we're going to get out of here'."
Lawyers spent Wednesday morning summing up the case in court in Grosseto, Tuscany, where the trial began in July 2013.
Lead defence lawyer Domenico Pepe said his client was "the victim of a legal and media circus", who had suffered a lot of pain since the disaster.
On Tuesday, prosecutor Stefano Pizza called the captain's conduct "reprehensible" and said: "It was a Titanic affair that merits adequate punishment."
He said: "There is a tsunami of evidence against Francesco Schettino but he has admitted to nothing.
"It would be easier for a lawyer to fly than to defend Schettino."
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Gallery: Italian Cruise Ship Runs Aground Off West Coast Of Italy
Rescuers on inflatable boats are seen next to the Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground off the west coast of Italy
The cruise ship suffered a lengthy underwater gash after hitting a submerged rock and foundered just yards from shore on the island of Giglio
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