(ANSA) - Leftwing candidate Francantonio Genovese on Monday became mayor for the Sicilian city of Messina, continuing a long stretch of wins by the centre left over the centre right.
Genovese beat the candidate of Italy's ruling coalition, Luigi Ragno, by 55% to 45%.
Leftwing leaders hailed the result while their opponents blamed it on a low turnout.
Some leftwingers claimed the ballot was a vote of no confidence in a multi-billion-euro scheme to build a bridge linking Sicily to the mainland. The centre left has beaten the centre right in all local elections this year.
In the 2001 general election all of Sicily's constituencies voted for Premier Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right House of Liberties.
The Messina vote was seen as a further test ahead of next Spring's general election. The centre left is leading the centre right in the opinion polls.
