Three people were arrested on Wednesday morning while a further 53 people, aged 25 to 75, face charges, Il Messaggero reported.
The investigation involved authorities from 16 Italian regions, including Lombardy and Tuscany, the newspaper said.
Police discovered the network after their counterparts in Hannover, Germany, handed over IP addresses of the alleged paedophiles to Italian police.
The confiscated pornographic footage and images are of girls and boys under the age of 10 and some younger than five. Investigators are analyzing the materials in order to identify the victims, Il Messaggero said.
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