Before the start of the opening ceremony of the World Fencing Championships in Milan, Mattarella stopped to speak with the pair, who briefed him on the storms that killed two people and caused untold damage.
The president was said to have inquired about the bad weather situation and the damage it has caused in Milan and Lombardy after the violent cloudburst during the night.
Fontana formally submitted a request for the recognition of a state of emergency to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the competent ministers and the head of the Civil Protection Department.
A car in Milan damaged by a fallen tree. (Photo: AAP)
Meanwhile, two charred bodies were found near Palermo Tuesday, likely victims of a huge wildfire that is raging near the Sicilian capital.
The bodies were found in a rundown shack in Cinisi not far from the airport.
They have not been identified.
Police and firefighter said they are victims of the fire that has been devouring the area for hours.
They were found in Fondo Orsa inside a house in very poor condition that had gone up in flames.
The two were approximately 77 and 75 years old, medical examiners said.
The wildire in Palermo. (Photo: AAP)
Elsewhere, some 2000 people were evacuated from three hotels at Vieste in Puglia Tuesday, also due to a threatening wildfire.
Tourists are leaving the facilities Residence Gattarella, Hotel Portonovo and Hotel Gargano to go to a gym in the center of Vieste, set up by the municipality so that they can spend the night there “in case they cannot return to the structures”, said Vieste Mayor Giuseppe Nobiletti.
The situation is said to be complex because the flames are fed by a strong wind. Some Canadairs are also in action.
On the ground, Carabinieri forest guards, firefighters and civil protection workers are working.
Local police officers were also on site to divert traffic.
ANSA
