Rome snow closes the Colosseum
A boy plays with a snowball in front of the ancient Colosseum after a snowfall blanketed the city of Rome (AP)
After no big snowfall for 26 years, Rome is being hit by its second snowstorm in a week.
Snow blanketed Rome's suburbs over the weekend, and has settled in the capital's centre.
On Friday, Rome's schools closed as a precaution, and monuments including the Colosseum were shut to the public for fear tourists could fall on ice.
Many places, including the university town of Urbino in the northern Marche region, and mountain villages in Abruzzo and Basilicata south of Rome, had not been able to dig out from the storm a week earlier and were battered again.
Big lorries were ordered off national roads, raising fears that food will struggle reach stores. Air travel was reported as normal.
Press Association
