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ROME

Major fire damages historic bridge in Rome

A huge fire broke out in the Ostiense area of Rome shortly before midnight on Saturday, engulfing the city's Ponte dell'Industria, which is also known as the "Iron Bridge".

Fire officers walk across the badly damaged Ponte dell'Industria bridge in Rome
Fire officers walk across the badly damaged Ponte dell'Industria bridge in Rome on October 3rd, 2021 after putting out the blaze that started late Saturday night. picture alliance/dpa/LaPresse via ZUMA Press | Cecilia Fabiano

Photos and videos published across social media showed parts of the bridge, including the outer pedestrian walkway, breaking off and falling into the Tiber river it spans.

The fire brigade said in a tweet on Sunday that it was able to put out the fire by 4am.

It declared the bridge unusable, also banning the transit of boats along that stretch of the river.

No-one was injured in the fire, but three nearby nightclubs were evacuated as a precaution, according to the Irish Examiner.

People stand by a fallen section of Rome's fire-damaged Ponte dell'Industria bridge

People stand by a fallen section of Rome’s Ponte dell’Industria bridge that was badly damaged in Saturday’s fire. picture alliance/dpa/LaPresse via ZUMA Press | Cecilia Fabiano

Some external parts of the bridge collapsed in the fire, but the underlying structure remained intact, Italian news website Tgcom24 reported.

The service tunnels at the sides and the sections overlooking Radio Square were particularly badly damaged, it added.

The flames also affected surrounding vegetation and some makeshift shelters below the bridge, occupied by homeless people.

Media reports indicated that the fire may have originated there, possibly started by the explosion of a cooking gas canister. However, the fire brigade ruled out arson.

The fire also affected a gas pipeline and several electrical cables under the bridge road, causing a blackout in parts of the Trastevere and Ostiense districts of the capital.

Traffic was also impacted as the bridge connects two key areas of the city – Marconi and Ostiense.

“What we can say at the moment is that it is heartbreaking to see a piece of history reduced to this. The municipal committee was called to see to the gas and electricity services on Sunday morning. Then we need to look at structural stability. After that, we will try to work on reopening the roads,” Mayor Virginia Raggi said in a live video on Facebook.

The historic bridge was built between 1862 and 1863 and is 131 metres long.

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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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