Italian economic growth slowed in the first three months of 2007, with GDP up 0.2% over the previous quarter, national statistics bureau Istat reported on Tuesday.
It said the figure was the lowest quarter-on-quarter result since the last three months of 2005, when GDP fell 0.1% over the preceding quarter.
But first quarter growth this year was up 2.3% compared to the same period in 2006, Istat noted.
The figures were below the European Union average.
European statistics bureau Eurostat said on Tuesday that GDP in the 27-member bloc rose 0.6% in the first quarter of 2007 over the last quarter of 2006.
Comparing the first quarter to the same period last year, EU GDP growth amounted to 3.2%.
In the euro zone, GDP rose 0.6% in the first three months of the year compared to the previous quarter and 3.1% against the same period last year, Eurostat said.
Italian Premier Romano Prodi's centre-left government recently lifted its GDP growth forecast for this year to 2.2%, compared to the European Commission's latest projection of 2%.
The Italian economy posted its best performance in six years in 2006, with growth of 1.9%.
The data appeared to confirm that Italy was emerging from a prolonged period of economic stagnation.
From 2001-2005, GDP growth averaged less than 0.7% per year.
