As many Italians brushed away
the snow to celebrate New Year's Eve Wednesday, even the
normally sunny island playground of Capri suffered frozen pipes
as temperatures dropped well below zero.
Forecasters had warned of a snowy week with unusually cold
temperatures throughout Italy, and their predictions were proven
by icy winds and snow throughout much of the south including the
coastal towns of Bari, Brindisi, and Taranto.
Molise region was paralyzed while the dazzling clear blue
skies above the capital city of Rome lured tourists into the
biting, Arctic-inspired winds that brought temperatures as low
as -8 degrees C.
At least one death was blamed on weather as a homeless man
was found dead, likely from the cold, in Grossetto early
Wednesday.
Even legendary Mount Vesuvius further south was dusted with
white snow, temporarily cooling the volcano with a flakes that
extended down to its lower regions.
Below Vesuvius, in the community of Ercolano and in nearby
Naples, red-roofed homes were turned white and then icy by the
snow.
A local hospital received complaints Wednesday that
emergency patients and visitors could not reach the facility in
Boscotrecase because of treacherous road conditions.
One man visiting his mother-in-law in hospital there said
that even ambulances were having difficulties.
Highway authorities said some 700 kilometres of Italy's
most travelled motorways were in bad condition, blocked by snow
and ice including stretches around Florence and Bologna.
In parts of the central Emilia Romagna region, icy roadways
and continued sleet created a traffic hazard, heightened by the
heavy holiday traffic.
On the higher ground in Marche region, winds gusted at
times to as strong as 100 kilometres per hour while at the port
of Ancona, gales and rough seas prevented ships from docking.
Civil protection authorities had issued freezing
temperature warnings as temperatures were seen to drop as low as
-20 degrees Celsius in Abruzzo on Tuesday while snow continued
to fall along the Adriatic coast.
Temperatures at the Gran Sasso Campo Imperatore ski resort
in Abruzzo fell to -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees F) on
Tuesday, where lifts and runs remained closed as a snowstorm
with whipping winds battered the area.
But Premier Matteo Renzi and his family were among the
Italians making the most of the crisp winter weather, as he took
a brief skiing vacation in the northern region of Valle d'Aosta.
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