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TRAFFIC

Commuters in Rome spend six days a year in traffic jams

Do you feel like you spend an unreasonable amount of time stuck behind the wheel of your car? If you're commuting in Italy, you're not imagining it - a new study reveals exactly how much time Italian drivers lose to traffic jams each year, and it's not pretty.

Commuters in Rome spend six days a year in traffic jams
Traffic in Rome. Photo:Pexels

Commuters in Rome lose 42 minutes to traffic jams every day – or more than six full days over the course of the year.

But the capital isn't the worst city in the country when it comes to time lost to congestion.

That title goes to Palermo, where traffic increased the average journey time by 43 percent, three points more than the eternal city. This makes it the sixth most congested city in Europe, beating London and Paris.

However, when it comes to the morning rush hour, Rome is the worst place in Italy to be behind the wheel, with a 'congestion index' of  74 percent at peak times.

The figures come from the TomTom Index 2017 which measures congestion around the world.

After Palermo and Rome, Messina was the next most congested city in Italy, with Naples and new entry Reggio Calabria rounding out the top five.

Next came Milan, Catania, Taranto, Bari and Florence.

At the other end of the scale, Parma and Brescia in the north of the country are the best places for drivers, with journeys only extended by an average of 15 percent. Even here, though, that figure had increased by two percent compared to last year ´- in fact, congestion has increased in every city in Italy. 

The study measured traffic levels in 390 cities in 48 countries worldwide, with Mexico City emerging as the traffic jam champion, followed by Bangkok and Jakarta.

In Europe, the Polish city Łódź came out on top, with Bucharest and Moscow in second and third place.

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PROTESTS

Thousands protest in Rome against fascist groups after green pass riots

An estimated 200,000 people descended on Rome on Saturday to call for a ban on fascist-inspired groups, after protests over Italy's health pass system last weekend degenerated into riots.

A general view shows people attending an anti-fascist rally called by Italian Labour unions CGIL, CISL and UIL at Piazza San Giovanni in Rome
People attend an anti-fascist rally called by Italian Labour unions CGIL, CISL and UIL at Piazza San Giovanni in Rome on October 16th, 2021. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

Carrying placards reading “Fascism: Never Again”, the protesters in Piazza San Giovanni — a square historically associated with the left — called for a ban on openly neofascist group Forza Nuova (FN).

FN leaders were among those arrested after the Rome headquarters of the CGIL trade union — Italy’s oldest — was stormed on October 9th during clashes outside parliament and in the historic centre.

Analysis: What’s behind Italy’s anti-vax protests and neo-fascist violence?

A man holds a placard reading "yes to the vaccine" during an anti-fascist rally at Piazza San Giovanni in Rome

A man holds a placard reading “yes to the vaccine” during an anti-fascist rally at Piazza San Giovanni in Rome on October 16th, 2021. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

“This is not just a retort to fascist ‘squadrismo’,” CGIL secretary general Maurizio Landini said, using a word used to refer to the fascist militias that began operating after World War I.

IN PICTURES: Demonstrators and far right clash with police in Rome after green pass protest

“This piazza also represents all those in Italy who want to change the country, who want to close the door on political violence,” he told the gathered crowds.

Last weekend’s riots followed a peaceful protest against the extension to all workplaces of Italy’s “Green Pass”, which shows proof of vaccination, a negative Covid-19 test or recent recovery from the virus.

The violence has focused attention on the country’s fascist legacy.

Saturday’s demonstration was attended by some 200,000 people, said organisers, with 800 coaches and 10 trains laid on to bring people to the capital for the event.

Workers from the Italian Labour Union (UIL) react during an anti-fascist rally in Rome

Workers from the Italian Labour Union (UIL) react during an anti-fascist rally in Rome on October 16th, 2021. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

It coincided with the 78th anniversary of the Nazi raid on the Jewish Ghetto in Rome.

Over 1,000 Jews, including 200 children, were rounded up at dawn on October 16th, 1943, and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

General Secretary of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), Maurizio Landini (C) delivers a speech as Italian priest Don Luigi Ciotti (R) looks on

General Secretary of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), Maurizio Landini (C) delivers a speech as Italian priest Don Luigi Ciotti (R) looks on during the anti-fascist rally in Rome. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

“Neofascist groups have to be shut down, right now. But that has to be just the start: we need an antifascist education in schools,” university student Margherita Sardi told AFP.

READ ALSO: Covid green pass: How are people in Italy reacting to the new law for workplaces?

The centre-left Democratic Party, which has led the calls for FN to be banned, said its petition calling on parliament to do so had gathered 100,000 signatures.

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