Roofs were blown off, trees were uprooted and electricity poles were torn down leading to power outages in some areas.
Ten people had to be evacuated from their homes.
Police reported that a 60-year-old man from the Cervignano area died after the car he was driving crashed.
It happened at around 3.20am in Stroldo di Cervignano del Friuli (Udine), during a particularly extreme period of bad weather.
Carabinieri are investigating, but it appears the motorist, who was traveling alone, lost control of the car, and veered off the road, before overturning and ending up against a wall.
The extreme weather event started around 2.30am local time and lasted for several hours.
The strong wind, coupled with heavy rain and storms, resulted in falls of pylons, trees and branches with roadblocks, damaged cars and roofs of houses; in some places there was no electricity.
A thousand-year-old oak tree, meanwhile, was also destroyed in Villanova, in Fossalta di Portogruaro, in the Veneto region.
In that area alone there were more than 170 interventions by firefighters in various locations, still working to free up streets of fallen trees.
ANSA
