It snowed heavily in the northern cities of Milan, Venice and Turin on Monday and the weather has affected transport, in particular rail connections due to ice on the tracks.
Schools in several parts of Liguria, Piedmont and Tuscany were closed on Monday due to the bitter weather, while road, rail and ferry links in central Italy have also been affected.
“The situation is more critical in Liguria and Piedmont,” rail network company RFI said.
The company added that rail traffic would remain suspended until 06:00 am on Tuesday in Piedmont and Liguria, while the situation was also “highly critical” in Emilia Romagna and Tuscany.
In Liguria, several families were evacuated from the seaside resort of Sanremo because local authorities feared an avalanche or mudslide, while gales measuring 165 km/h swept down tree branches in Val D'Aveto.
In Veneto to the northeast, many mountain passes were closed due to the risk of avalanches.
In Val d'Aosta to the far northwest, Christmas markets were closed on Monday and will reopen on Tuesday.
In Tuscany, a “prolonged” red alert over ice and snow was issued, while most flights out of Florence airport were cancelled due to high winds.
Transport Minister Graziano Delrio spoke of the risk of ice forming on rail transport wires and lines, stopping traffic.
“The situation is complicated and patience is needed,” he said.
“New technologies always improve the performance of the lines and the tracks; therefore, it is clear that with new technologies and more investments in railways, it will be increasingly easier to tackle this problem.”
Investments in RFI over the last three years amount to around €30 billion, compared to €6 billion over the previous three years.
“This shows the effort they are making to modernise the network,” Mr Delrio said.
With ANSA
