Calls mounted on Monday for troops to be sent into Naples after an 18-year-old youth was fatally stabbed by another teenager in an escalating wave of violence in the southern city.
Justice Minister Clemente Mastella said that "the army idea is no longer a taboo because something must be done to ease the insecurity and fear felt by many of the locals".
The latest murder, the third in as many days, took place on Sunday in Pozzuoli on the outskirts of Naples when a 16-year-old boy stabbed two 18-year-olds, Daniele Del Core and Loris De Roberto, in an argument over an ex-girlfriend.
Del Core died from his wounds in hospital while De Roberto, who was stabbed seven times, is fighting for his life having undergone three operations to stem internal bleeding.
The episode followed the Saturday night murder of a 45-year-old woman, Patrizia Marino, who was gunned down in a sports shop in the northern suburbs of Naples.
Marino was a suspected a drug dealer and police believe her murder is linked to a turf war between rival clans in the Neapolitan Mafia, known as the Camorra.
In another incident on Friday night, a Naples shop owner shot and killed a thief in order to defend his son.
Santo Gulisano, who runs a tobacconist's in the city centre, killed the 30-year-old thief and wounded his 16-year-old accomplice after he found them inside his shop, threatening his son with a gun.
Gulisano, an ex-policeman, told magistrates that the thieves had already stolen 200 euros from the till and had been threatening to kill his son unless the boy handed over more money.
Meanwhile, a 19-year-old Neapolitan youth underwent emergency surgery on Monday after being stabbed by a friend in a tiff on Sunday night.
Doctors said the youth was in a serious condition after being knifed in the abdomen and chest.
The Italian media on Monday spotlighted the crime wave, reporting that 66 people had been killed in and around Naples since the start of the year.
The press said 49 of the murders were linked to the Camorra while eight were the result of armed robbery.
More than 750 thefts and burglaries were reported in the city, which has an unemployment rate of 24.7%, between the start of July and the end of August.
Magistrates said much of the violence stemmed from the Camorra, noting that there were at least 4,000 known members of the some 20 clans active in and around Naples.
Many politicians argued that the only hope was to send in troops, a solution which was adopted in Sicily in 1992-98 when 150,000 soldiers were sent to the southern island to help deal with a Mafia emergency.
Retired General Mario Buscemi, who was once in charge of the army in Sicily, said he "totally agreed" with the idea of deploying troops in the region of Campania, of which Naples is the capital.
"Perhaps you can't beat the Mafia with troops but a sufficient army presence definitely deters street crime, at least that's the way it was in Sicily," Buscemi told ANSA.
He recommended that at least 8,000 soldiers be sent to Naples, which has a local police force of 13,250.
His comments came as Italy's secret services warned that Naples could be heading towards a period of bloody clan warfare.
Antonio Bassolino, who heads the regional government of Campania, said that "the Camorra, street crime and violence risk robbing us of our future and our children's future".
"We mustn't let this happen. We must join together in this great battle for freedom and solidarity," Bassolino said.
He did not rule out bringing in the army but said that boosting the local police force and the number of magistrates was of greater importance.
"I'm not against the use of soldiers but the army has been here on other occasions and it didn't do much good. Only an idiot could think that murders like the Pozzuoli one could be avoided with the army. However, if the troops can free up the police, then that would be welcome," Bassolino said.
Naples' chief prosecutor Giandomenico Lepore agreed that the city needed more police officers and investigators.
"The deployment of troops might reassure some citizens and tourists, which wouldn't be bad for a city which is plagued by muggings, but what we really need is more people to work on investigations," Lepore said.
Several small parties in the centre-left governing coalition of Premier Romano Prodi argued against sending in the army.
The Green party and the Communist Refoundation Party said that more money needed to be invested in Naples overall, including its police force and job creation initiatives.
Naples Mayor Rosa Russo Jervolino said that "crime prevention and territorial control are obviously important but it's vital to bear in mind that the roots of the problem are social and cultural".
"We must be able to offer our youngsters values, education and above all work opportunities which can give them a good quality of life," she said.
Premier Prodi, meanwhile, said his government would work to improve law and order across the south, not just in Naples.
